Open your eyes
by lilyyuri
Summary: Kurt Hummel is working as a bartender in one of Chicago's hip gay clubs; Noah Puckerman is one of Chicago's finest firefighters. What will happen when they meet? AU (Formerly 'Hot-Air Balloons)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Not mine, not even one bit.

**Author's note: **This story is inspired by the 'Happy Endings' episode where Max and Jane share their semi-secret love for the Chicago firefighters. If you want, its episode 10 of season 2, it's the end that was most hilarious. It's a great show in any case, you should watch it anyway.

**Summary:** Kurt Hummel is working as a bartender in one of Chicago's hip gay clubs; Noah Puckerman is one of Chicago's finest firefighters. What will happen when they meet?

**..oo00oo..**

**Open your eyes  
**

**Chapter One **

The music was loud, the bases beating in sync with Kurt's heartbeat, the lights were blinking and swirling hugging the mass of bodies on the dance floor with a multitude of colors, it was yet another busy weekend night at one of Chicago's most popular gay clubs 'Vicious', but Kurt paid no mind to that, busy mixing drinks and serving. Usually he liked working as a bartender- all those pretty boys fighting for his attention couldn't be bad for the ego, and when he put his game-face on and flirted back he usually left the bar with a hefty pile of bills. Tonight however, he was really not in the mood to be nice or flirty and even though he knew that his tips will suffer and his boss, Santana, will be pissed with him he didn't care, he just wanted to go and home and practically counted the minutes until his shift was over.

There was a bad vibe in the air. Kurt couldn't quite put his finger on it or explain it even to himself but something wasn't right. Shaking his head and telling himself it was stupid Kurt carried on serving drinks, because as long as he kept himself busy time will fly. Walking over to the storeroom Kurt took a moment to compose himself, this was ridiculous, he had work to do and nothing bad was going to happen except to his tip jar. Grabbing the can of olives he came for Kurt stepped back behind the bar when he saw it- a flash of orange in his peripheral vision, only this one didn't come from the dance floor, which was on the other side of the club. Putting down the heavy can of olives Kurt dragged an empty case of beer to stand on and get a better look over the heads of people around the bar.

There it was, and Kurt was never one to believe in any sort of premonitions or signs but this was downright freaky- flames were going up, licking the walls seeking more flammable material to feed their hunger. The fire broke out in a relatively disused corner of the club but it was spreading fast, and no one seemed to notice!

Trying to be as discreet as possible as to not cause a mass panic Kurt made his way to the DJ stand and tried to get Sugar, the DJ on call's attention. When he finally managed to do so he pointed at the fire, hoping Sugar will get the message, turn off the music and tell everyone to calmly head towards the exit, only when Sugar spotted the fire she began to scream hysterically instead. Kurt sighed and rolled his eyes, for someone who had a razor sharp tongue and cultivated an 'I-couldn't-care-less' attitude, Sugar was far too easy to succumb to hysterics. Climbing into the DJ stand Kurt grabbed Sugar's shoulders and shook her, fighting the tempting urge to slap her face,

"Turn off the music and tell everyone to make their way out calmly!" He ordered the frightened girl who seemed to take courage from the fact someone could keep a cool head and nodded mutely. Kurt jumped off the DJ stand and rushed to the storeroom to get his cell phone. In the background he heard Sugar's voice rising shrilly through the club, yelling dramatically for people to run for their lives and the break-out of collective hysterical outburst. Kurt rubbed his face tiredly, and thanked his lucky stars he wasn't in anyone's way. Dialing 911, he asked the pleasant voiced lady to send a fire-squad to the club.

When Kurt ventured back into the club he was pleased to see that almost everyone was out, looking around him he could see the fire spreading fast, and an alarming thought crossed his mind- the toilets! Usually it was one of the busiest parts of the club, though not often used for their designed purpose, and thank god Santana flat down refused to even think of installing a dark room in the club. The toilets were located not far from the fire and usually people who went there weren't exactly listening to what went on in the club. Grabbing a towel Kurt dipped it in the half melted ice bucket, soaking it through before he pressed the cold, wet fabric to his face, covering his nose and mouth and made his way to the toilets.

Banging on every door and bending over to make sure there were no legs, he yelled for people to get out, coughing heavily in the thickening smoke. After making sure no one was left behind Kurt stumbled back into the club, his eyes were streaming and blurring his vision and his lungs felt like they were about to explode. The smoke was much thicker now and he could barely see his way when suddenly a tall shape loomed before him, and a yellow-clad fireman gripped his arm. Kurt felt dizzy and numb as he was passed from hand to hand leading him out of the club until he was pushed down to sit and an oxygen mask was pressed against his face.

With the soothing effect of the oxygen his lungs eventually stopped burning so much and breathing became easier. Kurt could feel his head clearing as well and he was able to grasp what was going on around him. He was sitting on the back steps of an ambulance, while all around him lights of red and blue flashed. Kurt looked over at the club, from the outside it looked almost normal, except for the heavy stream of smoke pouring through the doors and firemen who were running in and out, wearing masks and carrying hoses. Not far from there stood a group of club goers, looking terrified and excited at the same time, herded together behind a police yellow tape line, like a coop of clucking chickens.

Santana was running towards the club, her baby, tears in her eyes and screaming and cursing at the top of her lungs. A burly officer grabbed her around the midriff, trying to prevent her from charging headlong into the fire. She struggled against him, but he won't let up until she collapsed to the ground, sobbing pitifully while her girlfriend, Brittany whispered in her ears and tried to comfort her.

"How are you feeling?" Kurt looked up to see a paramedic bending over him with a soft smile and a thick Irish accent. Kurt pulled away the mask and tried to smile, opening his mouth, "Don't try to speak yet," The paramedic, Rory, as his nametag read, said pleasantly as he pressed a stethoscope under Kurt's shirt to his back listening to Kurt's lungs. "You've inhaled quite a bit of smoke, though you did good blocking most of it with the wet towel." Walking back to stand in front of Kurt, Rory gave another one of his cheerful grins, "You're going to be just fine, but I want you to sit here for a bit more and breathe in the oxygen. I'm going over to check this lot." He said and pointed the huddled mass behind the police tape, looking a bit concerned. Kurt smiled behind the mask and raised his eyebrows at Rory who seemed to really start fearing for himself at Kurt's reaction. Smoothing down his uniform shirt he took a deep breath, grabbed his first aid kit and marched on bravely.

Kurt sat on the step obediently, breathing in the oxygen. Now that the adrenaline and fear were wearing off he was starting to feel the fatigue settling in and he became very aware of how dirty he was, he wondered whether he should ignore Rory's instructions and just go home. Weighing the pros and cons of skipping Kurt failed to notice someone approaching the ambulance until a friendly voice greeted him. Looking up Kurt nearly swallowed his tongue, and he was mightily glad for the oxygen because he was pretty sure he stopped breathing for a second there,

On the side of the ambulance door leaned a fireman, which in itself wasn't that strange as the place was crawling with them, but this particular fireman was someone Kurt never believed he'd meet in real life, and wasn't it just Kurt's luck to meet the man of his dreams, literally, when he looked like he just rolled out of someone's fireplace. Because this was not just any fireman, this was _Mr. August_, and Kurt felt the heat rising to his cheeks and was very glad the man could not read his mind because if he knew half the stuff they've been up to in Kurt's prolific imagination he'd run to the hills screaming. Putting both hands on his mask to cover for his embarrassment Kurt nodded mutely.

"I just came by to say that I think it was very brave of you to make sure no one was left behind." The man said, flashing a million volt smile that did strange things to Kurt's stomach and he could feel the blush intensifying. Up close the man looked even better than he did in the calendar, despite the fact he was wearing much more. "I'm Noah, by the way." Kurt took another deep breath, wondering if it was the oxygen or Noah's presence that were making his head feel light and slowly lowered the mask,

"Kurt." He said, wincing a little as his voice sounded raspy and burnt in his ears. Noah smiled again and stuck his hand out and Kurt gingerly shook it, swallowing hard and trying to hold it together before he did something really stupid. Luckily Rory chose this moment to return, looking a little disheveled and dropping his kit loudly in the ambulance behind Kurt's back,

"Blimey, they're a lively bunch, no mistake about that!" He said exasperatedly and Noah let out a hearty laugh that was warming Kurt's insides through,

"It's the uniform; they go mad for them, that's why none of us is going near them. We kinda need to keep them on." Rory let out a snort of laughter, but Kurt noticed he was pulling his collar a little tighter around his neck. Pulling his stethoscope again Rory pressed it against Kurt back, and Kurt jumped a little at the coldness, as Rory didn't bother blowing on it this time round. Locking eyes with Noah, who was still leaning casually on the ambulance door like he didn't have anything better to do than stare at Kurt with that soft smile, Kurt was very glad Rory was listening to his lungs and not his heart otherwise he'd have to explain why it was beating so fast and that was one explanation he wasn't thrilled to give, not while Noah was still there.

"Well, you're right as rain," Rory declared, "You should head home and have a good night's rest. Your throat will feel a little scratchy for a few days but it's nothing a good load of tea won't cure." Kurt nodded in thanks and handed back the oxygen mask, feeling like he was giving away his armor and rose to his feet. Using the fact that Noah was distracted by Rory asking him a question Kurt slipped past them and hurried home.

When he reached his door he realized that his wallet, coat and keys were left in the storeroom of the club. Fishing out the spare key from its hiding place under the hallway plant he hoped that there will still be something to retrieve tomorrow, because he really didn't feel like having all his cards replaced, not to mention- his fabulous coat. Opening the door Kurt walked into the kitchen and gratefully sank into a chair, feeling the ache in every muscle. Mercedes, his roommate and best friend, burst out from the other room,

"Kurt! Oh my god! David called and said there was a fire at the club, I was just on my way there to see what happened!" She cried, babbling in a slightly panicked tone, "What happened to you, were you hurt?" Kurt shook his head,

"Minor smoke inhalation, I'm fine." He said, his throat still feeling raw, and Mercedes reached out to touch him but changed her mind at the last minute and Kurt wondered just how dirty he actually was,

"You sound terrible; you want a glass of water?" She asked and went to get one without waiting for a reply, "I'll make you some green tea with honey, that will sooth your throat," She continued talking as she put the cattle on to boil and placed a glass of water in front of Kurt. Only when the first gulp of water washed over his gullet did Kurt realized how thirty he was, it was as if the smoke had dried out all the membranes of his throat and the water were doing wonders to sooth the ache. "So, tell me what happened." Mercedes said as she sat down, placing a hot cup of tea in front of Kurt, who smiled in thanks.

"I don't know, I saw the fire and luckily we got everyone out, but I left before it was over so I don't know what caused the fire or anything." Mercedes looked vaguely disappointed at the meager explanation and Kurt knew she was expecting something much more blood chilling and heroic but that wasn't something he could provide at the moment.

"So, were there any worthy looking firefighters around?" Kurt almost choked on his tea; this was so like Mercedes- once she got the worry out of her system she turned straight to the gossip. Kurt blushed furiously which only spurred Mercedes to look more gleeful, "I knew it! Who was it?" Kurt lowered his head, refusing to look at his best friend,

"Mr. August." He mumbled and Mercedes squealed happily,

"Oh, this is too good! Tell me everything!" Kurt let out a small sigh, looking like a lost little puppy and Mercedes frowned, this was not the way it was supposed to go, Kurt was supposed to be all starry eyed and giddy with excitement, going on and on about how hot Mr. August was in real life and swooning, yes, definitely- Kurt should be swooning, not upset. "What did you do?" Kurt shrugged, "Oh, god, please tell me you didn't tell him about that fantasy with the firemen pole." Kurt's head snapped up, his eyes narrowed,

"Would you stop reading my journal?!" He cried out, but Mercedes only shrugged,

"Learn to hide it better." She said with a pleasant smile and Kurt just shook his head, if he didn't love Mercedes so much he probably would have killed her a long time ago. Besides, he mostly wrote down those fantasies to keep her happy anyway, the really good ones he kept to himself, "So, what happened, what did you say?"

"Nothing, he came over while I was getting oxygen and said that I was brave for making sure everyone was out of the place." Kurt shrugged, trying to brush off the whole thing even though a part of him was over the moon that Noah thought he was brave, that Noah thought about him at all- but most of him was realistic enough to know that it didn't really mean anything. "His name is Noah."

"Noah," Mercedes said, rolling the name on her tongue, "I don't really like that name, too… vowel-y." Kurt shrugged, he's never really thought about the name before but if he was honest with himself he kinda liked it, it was soft, like a moan… Oh, great, here we go, he thought, this will not end well. "So, why did you run away? I thought you were fantasizing about this guy for ages."

"How would you like to meet, say, Mr. February looking like this?" Kurt gestured on himself and Mercedes winced in sympathy. If Mr. February showed up in front of her while she looked like Kurt did right now she'd probably off herself on the spot. Kurt let out another soft sigh and rose to his feet, "I'm going to take a shower and then to bed." He announced.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Kurt got the first real look of himself tonight and the person looking back was in a worse shape than he imagined. His hair was a complete mess, sticking out in odd angles, his face was covered with patches of black smears, his eyes were puffy and red and there were tear tracks running down his cheeks, accentuated by the soot. The lower half of his face was relatively clean thanks to the towel he pressed against his mouth and nose but that only served to make him look more like a very badly made-up chimney sweeper from a very low budget school production of 'Mary Poppins'. Shaking his head at himself he stepped into the shower.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two **

Two days later Kurt was back in the club, helping out with the mess. Santana was a good friend, good enough to give up his day off and help out. The club's burnt walls looked rather menacing to Kurt, not that the place was painted bright and cheery on a regular basis but the places the fire ate were like bold streaks of charred material that only reminded Kurt just how lucky they all were.

Santana had told him that thanks to his quick thinking and the firefighters' efficiency the fire didn't do much structural damage and that most of it was purely cosmetic. Apparently the police investigation was inconclusive as to whether the fire was caused by faulty wiring or negligence but they did rule out arson.

Kurt stood behind the bar, making inventory lists of glasses, bottles and everything that survived the fire. So far the only real damage he could see was plenty of glasses smashed on the floor in the panicked rush to the door and a bunch of plastic stirring sticks that melted together into a block from the heat. Humming to himself Kurt was busy counting the beer glasses so he, once again failed to hear someone approaching him,

"Hi." Kurt looked up sharply and nearly swallowed his tongue again, and he wondered if he'll ever get used to seeing Noah up and close, and how damaging to his self-image it would be.

"Hi." He answered, trying his best to fight the heat rising to his face and knowing that he was failing miserably, "What are you doing here?" Noah shrugged,

"Just stopped by to see how you were doing," He said with an easy grin and Kurt felt his whole face burning, because that meant that Noah actually remembered him, and sought him out! Despite the fact that the last time they met Kurt looked like he was, well in a fire. "Your voice sounds much better." Kurt tried to smile and briefly wondered if it was possible to get a heat stroke from blushing.

"Thank you. Plenty of tea and throat relaxing exercises." Kurt wanted to kick himself for not being able to come up with something better to say. He was babbling, in front of him stood one of the most gorgeous men Kurt has ever set eyes upon and he was _babbling_ about throat relaxing exercises? What the hell was wrong with him?

"Kurt, are you done with the lists? I need…" Kurt looked over to see Santana reaching the bar, and fixing her eyes on Noah, "Who the hell are you?"

"He's one of the firefighters who put out the fire." He hissed, knowing that Santana was working on some very vicious and scanting words to give Noah and he wasn't about to let him fall into the trap of her mouth, at least not without provocation,

"Oh, well, I don't see any fire right now, do you?" Noah smiled uneasily, knowing he was busted- he had no business coming over in the first place and now the boss was onto him.

"Santana!" Kurt cried, completely scandalized, but Santana ignored him completely,

"If you don't mind," Santana gave Noah one her sweet and deadly smiles, "Shall we?" She said to Noah, gesturing at the door with her hand. Noah looked worried for a second but eventually smiled and let Santana loop her arm through his and lead him away. Kurt watched them go with a gaping mouth. Part of him wanted to run after them and save Noah from whatever Santana had in store for him but mostly he was confused. Why would someone like Noah, who undoubtedly had hoards of fans just waiting to be noticed, would actively seek out Kurt, especially after the last time they met? Shaking his head Kurt tried to focus again on his task and continued to count glasses.

**..oo00oo..**

It was almost three weeks since the night of the fire and Kurt hadn't seen Noah again. He assumed Santana scared him to the core and whatever designs he had for Kurt were out of the window. Kurt told himself it was for the best, because fantasies coming alive are never a good basis to start a relationship on, and two very brief conversations were hardly a relationship, and for the most part he managed to make himself believe it.

The night of the club's re-opening approached fast and Kurt was getting nervous, the place was going to be packed and Santana asked for reinforcement. She actually went as far as asking Mercedes to help out and then dropped them all on Kurt. Kurt knew it would be difficult enough without having to keep an eye on Mercedes and the rest of the newbies and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Kurt stood in front of the waiting staff, hoping he didn't look as freaked out as he felt, he kept saying to himself this was a good practice for life but that didn't really help calming his nerves, especially when the faces of the new waiters looked blank and didn't seem to get a word he was saying. Eventually Kurt conceded defeat and told them to stick to the regular staff and follow their lead. When they all dispersed he led Mercedes to the bar, feeling it was best to keep a close eye on her.

"Mercedes, please promise me you won't get drunk tonight and do something that would embarrass me." He almost pleaded. Mercedes waved a dismissive hand,

"Please, when did I ever…" Kurt gave her a sharp glare and she smiled, poor Kurt could be so uptight sometimes, he was so lucky to have such an awesome BFF like her to unclench him every now and again.

"And please don't hit on any of the guys, it scares the hell out of them." Mercedes rolled her eyes, damn but Kurt was taking the fun out of everything! What was the point of working in a gay bar if not for the eye-candy and the flirting? And since when did gay boys fear her? She was a gay magnet for heaven's sake, they all wanted to adopt her as their own personal fag-hag, and Kurt was just jealous someone was going to steal her from him and he would be left with Santana and everyone knew lesbians made the worst fag-hags!

"Don't worry, I promise to behave," She said brightly, but Kurt was still looking sternly at her,

"No hitting on the girls either! You've got a boyfriend!" Mercedes smirked, wriggling her eyebrows,

"Oh, I'm sure Sam won't mind if I bring home a hot bi-curious girl. We could have a threesome." She added thoughtfully and Kurt wanted to kick himself for actually planting the idea in her head, and then shuddered at the thought,

"Just warn me beforehand so I'd know not to come home tonight." Mercedes laughed heartily and planted a kiss on Kurt's cheek and Kurt finally let out a small smile.

As soon as the doors opened the masses started flocking in and Kurt found himself up to his elbows with drink orders in no time. He knew he wasn't doing a great job being friendly but there was only so much he could do and between mixing drinks and making sure the rest of the staff didn't fuck up, or get fucked while on the clock he didn't really have much energy to spare to be extra nice to costumers. But apparently he didn't need to bother too much because next to him Mercedes beamed like a little solar system and her gravitational pull made sure they didn't have to worry about not making rent this month.

It was closing in on 1 a.m. and Kurt was ready to drop. David was supposed to take the next shift and Kurt couldn't wait for him to show up already. Taking a deep breath he rolled his shoulders and tried to massage some life back into them,

"Rough night?" Kurt spun around at the familiar voice, nearly tripping himself over and tried to smile, how the hell was he supposed to put the whole idea of Noah behind him when the man was right there, perched on a barstool and looking particularly edible in a leather jacket and million dollar smile?

"Hey," Kurt answered with a small smile of his own, because no matter what he told himself he was actually glad to see Noah again, "What are you doing here? Don't tell me there's another fire?" Kurt tried to keep his smile on even though inside he was dying of humiliation at his own abysmal flirting skills, and it wasn't like he didn't have them, or hone them during the many hours he put behind the bar, it was just that Noah was making his mind work on overdrive and apparently that left his mouth free to say all sorts of stupid things.

"Even firefighters get a night off on occasion." Noah said easily, apparently not too fazed by Kurt's words. Leaning his elbows on the bar top he flashed Kurt another one of those gorgeous smiles, "Besides, Santana gave me an invite the last time I was here, something about free drinks?" He added hopefully. Kurt snorted in laughter, he had no doubt Santana lured Noah back in with a promise of free drinks, Kurt just hoped she didn't somehow included him in her generous offer because the last time she pimped him out it nearly ended with a restraining order. In her own weird and dysfunctional way he was sure Santana saw it as her idea of helping him get the man of his dreams but Kurt just wished his well-meaning friends will stop meddling in his life so much. "She gave me this," Noah pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and gave it to Kurt, who took it and snorted out a small laughter,

"You do know this is a coupon for a cocktail. Do you even know what a cocktail is?" He asked with a smile, because Noah looked like the sort of guy who never actually tried a cocktail of any sort. Noah's brow creased in thought,

"It has something to do with tiny paper umbrellas, right?" Kurt laughed despite himself, the realization that Noah had a sense of humor warming his heart.

"I'll get you a whiskey instead," He said, pulling out a tumbler glass and grabbing a Jameson bottle,

"Will you join me?" Noah asked lowly and Kurt's heart leaped to his throat and he just barely managed to keep his hand steady and not slosh whiskey all over the bar. Lowering the bottle he flashed what he hoped was an apologizing smile at Noah,

"I don't really drink during work; I prefer to finish my night at home rather than the hospital due to alcohol poisoning." Noah smiled and nodded in understanding,

"Don't you guys keep a spitting bottle, like in that movie with all the cheeks dancing on the bar?" He asked while pulling a bowl of peanuts to him and thus missing Kurt's astonished expression,

"You've seen 'Coyote Ugly'?" He asked incredulously, while his heart sank a little, no self-respecting gay man would willingly watch that movie,

"My ex made me watch it. It was very disappointing really, they keep getting themselves wet but none of them was taking her top off." Noah said with a shrug and Kurt's heart plopped onto the floor, because of course someone like Noah would be straight, it was just that sort of special luck the gods bestowed on Kurt. He tried to plaster a smile on his face, while trying to back away gracefully,

"Yeah… um, I need to… I'll get you a beer!" Looking around him Kurt was very pleased and disappointed at the same time to realize that Mercedes had things pretty much under control. Without a backwards glance at Noah Kurt briskly walked over to Mercedes, pulling out a cold beer bottle and uncapping it, pulling at Mercedes' sleeve and hissing in her ear, "Do me a favor and give this to Mr. August." Mercedes' head whipped around so fast Kurt was afraid she was going to get a whiplash as she looked over to where Noah was sitting, his eyes fixed on Kurt who refused to look his way,

"Why?" She asked suspiciously, it was Kurt's job to woo his dream man after all, not hers.

"Mercedes, please just do it!" Kurt's tone was pleading and to his embarrassment, verging on whining. Mercedes took the beer from him and Kurt was grateful he could slip into the back room for a moment and compose himself.

Sitting on an upturned empty crate of beer Kurt rubbed his face tiredly, why did Noah have to show up today? After the last time they met Kurt had a few very uncomfortable nights when his fantasies about Noah shifted from the sleek, cocky firefighter in the calendar to the sweet-smiling man he talked to, and each time Kurt refused to succumb to the fantasies and tried to fight his attraction by means of cold showers- with partial success. But between then and now Kurt had also managed to convince himself he was doing fine without ever meeting Noah again, that is, until actually meeting Noah again.

"Why are you hiding here when your fantasy sits out there all alone?" Kurt lifted his eyes to glare at Santana who was leaning against the doorframe. He should have known she was following things from afar and he wouldn't put it past her to actually look Noah up to make sure he came over tonight,

"Why did you invite him over?" Santana shrugged, swishing her long ponytail to the side,

"Because I think he'll do you a world of good. Besides," She added with a mischievous glint in her eye, "It's always good to play nice with the authorities."

"He's straight." Kurt informed her dryly.

"Really?" For a second Santana looked genuinely shocked and Kurt hoped she was feeling bad for her meddling, though she quickly recovered, "Coming over here? Brave soul."

"Santana!" Kurt cried desperately, "Get rid of him, please!"

"Oh, no!" She said, shaking her head and snapping her long ponytail from side to side like a whip, "I'm not doing your dirty work, you need to grow a pair Ladyface and get out there!" Turning her back to him Santana exited the storeroom primly, leaving a gaping Kurt at her wake,

"It's your fault he's even here!" Kurt shouted after her once he found his voice, but it was too late. Cursing under his breath Kurt tried to pull himself together. He didn't want to see Noah again but he still needed his job and though he doubted Santana would fire him over this he didn't want to test her fickle nature on that.

For the rest of the evening Kurt did his best to ignore Noah, who was still sitting in the same place where he left him. The first couple of times Kurt had to come near his seat and couldn't find anyone else to do it for him, Noah had tried to grab his attention but Kurt stubbornly refused to look his way. He did make sure that Mercedes or one of the others took care of Noah's beverage needs.

"You're being incredibly rude." Kurt looked up from the beer glass he was filling at Mercedes, and shrugged,

"I don't care." He snapped and left before she could say anything more. He knew Mercedes was all for him grabbing the bull by the horns and fulfill his carnal desires with his fantasy man but Kurt knew himself well enough to know it wouldn't be so easy and if he did let himself follow his cock he'd end up with a broken heart and it would be up to Mercedes to pick up the pieces so he wasn't sure why she was so keen on it.

Towards the end of the shift Kurt was ready to hit someone, he was tired, grouchy and to make matters worse Noah was still sitting there staring at him, while Mercedes kept giving him none-too-subtle signs to go and talk to him. His attention was scattered and he no longer cared if the other staff messed up, let Santana worry about her people. Handing a cocktail to yet another faceless, nameless costumer Kurt didn't even bother with a smile, when a hand grabbed his wrist. Kurt looked up startled to find Noah close and frowning,

"When do you get out of here?" Kurt could feel his heart pounding so loudly he was pretty sure the whole club was hearing it, he tried to pull his hand away but Noah wasn't letting go, knowing that Kurt would only try to slip away again,

"I don't know, it's a pretty busy night." Kurt said, making a mental note to yell at David for being late, tonight of all nights.

"Are you mad at me?" The question caught Kurt completely by surprise, and all he could do was stammer a startled denial. Noah didn't look convinced, his frown deepening, "Because you've been ignoring me all night."

"I'm busy!" Kurt snapped and pulled his hand free, what the hell did Noah think he would do? Drop his responsibilities and just walk away with him?

"Mercedes told me you are just about to finish," Kurt wanted to roll his eyes, he should have known that Mercedes will not waste a second in coming over and introducing herself to Noah, probably telling him all kind of embarrassing things about Kurt while she was at it! "I was wondering if you'd like to grab a coffee with me."

"Why?" Again Kurt was ready to kick himself, and the frown Noah gave him just made him want to duck under the counter and hide until everyone has gone away,

"Because I want to get to know you better…" Noah said slowly, and a part of Kurt wanted nothing more than to fall into Noah's arms and agree to any and everything the man asked of him,

"I can't." Kurt blinked, not entirely sure this actually came out of his mouth, and he wondered if the smoke he inhaled at that fire actually gave him brain damage.

"Why not?" Why not indeed? Kurt rubbed his face in his hand, trying to gather his thoughts again before he did something _really_ stupid,

"I just…" He began, realizing he couldn't for the life of him figure out what to say next, when his eyes fell on Noah's hands, fiddling with the label of his beer and Kurt suddenly remembered why it was such a bad idea, "Look, you're not even…" Biting his lip to stop himself he sighed, "I just don't think it's such a good idea." He sighed in defeat and shrugged. Noah's frown deepened,

"I'm not even what?" He asked suspiciously,

"Forget it," Kurt said tiredly, thoroughly disappointed with himself and suddenly drained of all energy, "I just can't. I'm sorry." Without waiting for Noah's reply he turned around, knowing that Noah was looking after him, confused and possibly hurt. Noah didn't look like the kind of guy that was used to rejection; Kurt assumed he was more used to having people falling at his feet just by flashing that smile at them. But that was exactly the problem; Kurt wasn't the sort of guy that went home with guys based on a pretty smile and a hot body! Walking into the storeroom he hoped Noah will get the hint and leave soon because he really wasn't in the mood to stay stashed in here for the rest of the night. Giving himself five minutes to recompose himself he went back to the bar with his head held high, not daring to look to the spot where Noah sat all night, watching him, nor was he about to contemplate on the fact that Noah spent all his evening staring at him and trying to get him to talk to him only to be turned away like a dog. But curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't help himself and looked over, a little sigh escaping him at the sight of a complete stranger in the place where Noah sat, and he couldn't say for sure if it was disappointment or relief.

"You're pathetic." Kurt turned to Mercedes who came over to give him her two-cents and bristled,

"I don't care, I'm going home!"


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you all so much for reading, and liking my story. It's been quite a while since I've written anything- what with life and lack of inspiration, and I'm only now re-finding my muse again. So I hope you stick with me and not get too bored.

This is a story that had been plaguing me for quite a while and I'm very glad I finally managed to bring it actual fruition. I'd love to hear what you think, I read each and every review and I they really give me a lot of strength to keep writing (I wanted to write the whole thing and only then post it but I needed to know you people liked it, so I posted sooner than I planned).

I'm really sorry it took so long for this chapter, I went home for the weekend and forgot my disk-on-key with the story on it in my flat…

**Chapter Three**

The next day Noah was sitting with his best friend Finn Hudson at their usual diner "The Pie-Hole". The official reason they sat there was because it was approximately halfway between Noah's fire station and Finn's police station. The unofficial reason was that Finn had a crush on the waitress but was way too chicken to act on it.

"I think I met someone." Noah said and Finn looked up from the menu he was pretending to read while trying to subtly follow Rachel, the waitress, as she moved around the place,

"Really?" It wasn't Puck's style, he usually met guys, fucked them and then came to Finn to brag and give all the gory details- in _detail_! 'Meeting someone' usually meant the guy probably hasn't put out yet, so Puck was still chasing them, but Finn was a good friend and he wasn't about to say it out loud, "That's great, man." He said carefully instead,

"I don't know," Noah said with a little wistful sigh, and Finn knew that something was wrong with his friend, all those toxic fumes he inhaled during his work were finally melting his brain, or maybe he got hit in the head, it wouldn't be the first time. Puck was never this subdued when talking about his sex life. "I don't think he's that into me." Finn scratched the back of his head, feeling a little lost, why did they have to talk about this sort of thing? They were dudes! They were not supposed to be this… sharing! And even though Puck was bent and all, he was still a guy sort of dude and never wanted to talk about feelings and stuff and that was one of the main reasons Finn still hung around with him.

"Where did you meet him?" He asked, sensing that Puck wanted to actually talk about this guy, and that alone made Finn curious. People like Noah 'Puckzilla' Puckerman did not do relationships!

"I rescued him from a fire." Finn actually rolled his eyes at that,

"Seriously dude, you have got to stop using your job to get hooks-ups!" Because abusing your power like that was wrong and immoral and why the hell couldn't Finn get girls this way? Wasn't being a cop just as big a chick-magnet as being a firefighter?

"Hey! I don't do that!" Noah protested, only to have Finn raising an eyebrow at him,

"You posed half naked for that calendar! How many offers did you get after that?" He asked sarcastically and Noah shrugged,

"I did turn a few down…" Finn let out a loud bark of laughter,

"No, you didn't! You're such a man-whore!"

"Ok, fine!" Noah cried, tossing his hands up in defeat, "I'm a slut!" Finn nodded, that was the understatement of the century, "But this guy is different."

"Because he won't put out?" Before Noah had a chance to say anything more, Rachel appeared at their table, smiling wide, with a pitcher of iced water in her hand,

"Hello boys." For a friction of a second Finn was actually glad she showed up and rescued him from the 'feelings conversation' but then he lifted his eyes to her face and felt his entire head going up on fire.

"Hey, Rachel." He mumbled, looking down at his menu as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Noah rolled his eyes, because sitting in this crappy diner because Finn had the hots for Rachel was one thing, sitting in this crappy diner watching Finn stammer and blush like a twelve years old schoolgirl with a crush on a teacher was just too much!

"What can I get you today?" Rachel beamed at them, and Finn sank low in his seat and practically hid behind the menu, a feat that Noah found extraordinary each and every time considering how tall Finn actually was.

"Um, the usual please." He managed to mumble. Rachel rolled her eyes,

"I thought you boys lived for the danger and unexpected!" She said, her eyes shining at the thought of all the danger they've been facing every day,

"Yeah," Noah said with an innocent grin, "That's why we come here." Rachel let out a snort of laughter, trying to keep her game face on,

"So, that'll be two burgers and fries then, extra spit for Noah." She added sweetly, flashing Noah a smile,

"Oh, you do spoil me…" He gushed right back and Rachel finally cracked, laughing heartily as she tucked her notepad in her apron and left to get their order. Noah watched her go with amusement, before returning his gaze to the table only to find Finn glaring at him, "What?"

"Do you _have_ to be so… friendly?" The tall man was practically growling. Noah rolled his eyes,

"Well, someone had to be, your conversational skills astound me every time."

"You don't have to flirt and try to bed _everyone_ that crosses your path!" Finn snapped and Noah seriously wanted to hit him. Getting into Rachel pants was the only reason they came here, and if Finn wasn't man enough to do the job someone had to lay the ground!

"Dude! I just told you that I met someone!" And Noah would take a rejection from Kurt over a thousand dates with Rachel any day!

"So why are you flirting with Rachel?" Finn's voice was growing louder though he was trying to keep it down, the result being a sort of whispered squeak that made Noah want to laugh,

"Because you're too much of a chicken to do it yourself!" He deadpanned, leaving Finn gaping at him in shock.

"You… you know I like Rachel?" Noah looked at his best friend. People always said that Finn was a little slow and Noah always told them to shut the hell up, but at moments like these he could definitely see their point.

"Dude, bears in Alaska know you like Rachel!" He said dryly, and Finn had the decency to look bashful. "I don't mind telling you, your flirting skills are embarrassing!" Finn sighed pathetically, deflated of fighting spirit,

"I know, it's just that… she's totally out of my league." Both men turned to look at Rachel, who was laughing at something a costumer told her, her head tilted backwards dramatically, Noah really had to admire her for not wasting any chance to show off her acting skills, in the hopes that someday some casting director will show up in this dump and whisk her off to a life of glory under the limelights.

"She's a waitress in a crappy diner with broken dreams of being an actress… The only thing she's got going for her is that she's Jewish," Noah dryly summed Rachel's status, how on earth could Finn think she's out of his league? She didn't even have a league! "Look, you're a cop, you carry a gun- chicks dig this shit!" Finn raised an eyebrow, from his experience girls didn't automatically fall at your feet just because you packed a firearm. Maybe telling them he was rushing into burning buildings on a regular basis would get him more action… He could always borrow uniforms from Puck. Noah looked at the emotions running over Finn's face, knowing he wasn't at all convinced, but to be honest- Finn had everything he needed to be a total chick-magnet except for the conviction he could be one. "Plus, you're tall, and not a total dog."

"Gee, thanks."

"Hey, if I said you're hot you would just go into one of your homophobic meltdowns!" Noah accused, because it wouldn't be the first time. Finn's been extra sensitive to gay guys telling him he looked hot ever since Noah took him to a gay bar to loosen him up in a place where he didn't have to worry about girls judging him. Turned out guys hitting on him caused Finn to go into a self-doubt spin that freaked him so badly Noah had to go out and rent a bunch of straight porn DVDs to restore Finn's belief in the world. At least Finn didn't make him watch them with him… "You're a handsome man, ok?"

"I agree." Both men looked up to see Rachel standing above their table with two steaming plates. Finn's face reddened so fast Noah was wondering if he'll have to use his CPR skills anytime soon, he hoped not- Finn will never speak to him again if he showed off in front of Rachel any more than he supposedly already has.

"Hey, Rachel," He said brightly, ignoring Finn's glares, "How would you like to take my boy Finn here on a date?" Smiling despite the pain from the kick Finn aimed to his sheen Noah prattled on bravely, "He's been pining after you for months."

"Puck!" Finn hissed when he realized that the only way to shut his friend up was to break his leg clean. But to his surprise Rachel, instead of laughing and calling Finn a loser was actually blushing, quite fetchingly,

"Is that true?" She asked, looking directly at Finn now and he knew this was his only chance,

"Kind of, yes." He tried bravely to smile, hating himself for being such a blunder when it came to flirting. The look Noah was giving him just proved he was right in feeling so.

"Then I would love to." Finn flashed her a weary smile, hoping he didn't look like he was going to swallow his tongue in shock, because Rachel saying yes was pretty much the last thing he expected.

"Great!" Noah said, once again taking the conversation reins from Finn's extremely lax grip, "Hand over your phones while you talk logistics." Rachel fished her phone from her apron pocket handing it over, while Noah grabbed Finn's from the table, hoping that Finn will not mess a few simple phrases on his own while he programmed the numbers into each phone. The last thing he wanted was to have to go on that date with Finn and Rachel to make sure nobody will suffer any bodily harm.

"What time do you get off?" Finn asked, trying to fight the blush that was re-creeping up his face,

"Around four, you can come pick me up at seven; I'll text you my address." She added when Noah returned her phone. Bestowing a last charming smile on Finn Rachel returned to her work. Finn watched her going with a goofy smile of his own, before returning his eyes to the table and seeing Noah's smug expression,

"You're welcome." Noah said generously,

"Shut up."

**..oo00oo..**

Kurt and Mercedes were launching in their living room, sampling Kurt's latest creation- lemon pie ice-cream, while watching reruns of 'True Blood' and drooling over Eric Northman and Jason Stackhouse many shirtless scenes. It was a quiet evening and they were both determined to make the most of staying at home and enjoying the peace. Mercedes' boyfriend, Sam was working a night-shift at the hospital leaving the two to have their bonding night.

The doorbell rang and Kurt and Mercedes looked at each other, wondering who it could be. A short battle of wills later Kurt sighed and got up to get the door. Opening the door Kurt huffed in annoyance at the person standing at the other side,

"What do you want, Blaine?" Blaine Anderson, looking ready to take the town by storm with his black leather jacket and pretentious shades pushed his way into the apartment without an invite and made a beeline to the liquor cabinet,

"Come on, Kurt, get dressed," He said while pouring two shots of whiskey and putting one on the table for the stunned Kurt still standing by the door,

"What for?" Kurt asked suspiciously, watching Blaine drained his expensive whiskey in one gulp. Kurt hated whiskey shots, whiskey was meant to be consumed slowly, to savor its rich taste not to be thrown back like some cheap tequila!

"We're going to a party!" Blaine announced happily and looked at the shot still standing on the table where Kurt didn't pick it up. Reaching over he grabbed it and downed it as well, no point showing at the party sober.

"Oh, are we?" Kurt's voice was icy and his words cutting and Blaine was glad he had some whiskey inside him to warm him up a bit. He always hated when Kurt used his cold, condescending voice, it made Kurt face looked pinched like a little angry goblin.

"Don't start, you always do that!" Blaine was practically whining, why did Kurt have to be so difficult all the time, "We never go anywhere!"

"That's because we broke up a month ago!" Kurt snapped, this was getting ridiculous, Blaine refusing to acknowledge the fact they were no longer in a relationship. They weren't even friends for heaven's sake! "Besides, I have an early morning tomorrow."

"Come on, don't be a bore." Blaine said, completely ignoring the first half of Kurt's sentence, "You only live once."

"Yeah, and not all of us can do it on our parents' money." Kurt answered sarcastically.

"Hey," Blaine protested, but not too strongly, "I work." Which was technically true but only if you counted taking two shifts a week at the local coffee shop 'work'. Trying to change tracks before this turns into yet another argument about all the ways Blaine was wasting his life, said man plastered on a flirtatious smile, "Let's go dancing, we'll do some shots, get sexy and then come back here and fuck till morning…" He leered while trying to grab Kurt around the waist but the other man quickly stepped aside and pushed Blaine forcefully away,

"Blaine, stop!" He said firmly, "The whole point of breaking up is _not_ to go out together and definitely _not _to have sex!" Blaine was just about ready to roll his eyes but the look in Kurt's eyes stopped him, he was dangerously close to crossing a line here and Kurt was not someone to mess with while angry. Not with the unlimited access he had to big knives, anyway! "I've had a long day and tomorrow will be even longer, you need to go home Blaine!"

"When did you become so old and boring?" Blaine muttered under his breath but unfortunately Kurt heard him,

"When are you going to grow up and realize not all of us can afford to party all night and sleep all day!" Kurt's voice was getting lower and lower, a sign he was truly pissed, rather than the high pitch it assumed when Kurt was embittered about something. "I have responsibilities, Blaine!"

"Responsibilities? Kurt, you're 24 years old! Live a little or you'll wake up one day and realize you're 30 and that you've wasted your whole life." Kurt had to hand it to Blaine, the guy was either extremely brave and daredevil or he was beyond stupid- and if you asked either Mercedes or Santana the answer would have a definitive 'beyond stupid' along with other colorful words.

"That's rich coming from someone who's 23." Kurt replied before he could stop himself, damn it! The only way to get Blaine to shut up and leave was _not_ to get sucked into those stupid and pointless arguments! "Go home Blaine!"

"Fuck you, Kurt! I'm going out and if I meet someone hot I'm going to fuck him right there and not even care!" As a threat to get Kurt to let him stay it fell miles from the mark. Maybe a month ago this sort of talk would get him some sympathy and Kurt willing to go a long way to keep Blaine with him but not anymore. Kurt had grown out of the disillusion that this relationship was going anywhere but down the drain,

"You do whatever makes you happy Blaine, as long as it's somewhere else. I'm going to bed." Before Blaine could say anything, like suggesting he'll keep Kurt company in his bed, he was firmly escorted to the door, and practically pushed out into the hallway. Leaning against the closed door Kurt let out a long sigh, getting rid of Blaine was the smartest thing he's ever done, too bad the message hadn't reached Blaine's thick head! He wondered if it would be easier to just move out to a new apartment Blaine didn't know the address of, but he liked his place too much to do that just yet, so for now he had to deal with the nuisance that was his ex.

"Want me to mess him up so he won't ever come back?" Kurt lifted his head to see Mercedes standing in the doorway from their living room, looking grim and ready to get out and carry off her threat right that second. Kurt smiled sadly, pushing himself off the door and walking towards Mercedes, looping his arm through hers and pulling her back into the living room,

"I can handle him." He assured Mercedes but he knew that the longer Blaine kept showing up at their doorstep the less faith Mercedes had in his ability to get rid of the man and he wondered how long it'll take before she finally got fed up with this and took action of into her own hands. He just hoped she wouldn't ask for Santana's help because together those two could rule a gang and frankly- he rather not have to visit his best friend behind a fortified glass window.

**..oo00oo..**

**A/N:** I never made it a secret that I don't like Blaine, or the way he treats Kurt in the show. I don't like him and I'm not going to be nice to him.

BTW, I know what's going on in season 4 and I'm very happy about it but I haven't seen any of it yet so please don't give me specific spoilers, I do intend to watch it at some point- I just need to get over the disappointment of season 3.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Kurt woke up suddenly; looking around his darkened room and wondering what it was that woke him up in the middle of the night. A loud banging on his front door, as it turned out. Pulling his phone to him Kurt groaned when he saw it was closing in on two a.m. rubbing his face tiredly he dragged himself out of bed and went to the door to see who was making that raucous before the neighbors called the police.

"Kurt, open up!" Kurt gritted his teeth in annoyance, before yanking the door open,

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He hissed at Blaine, pulling the obviously drunk man into the apartment before he woke up the entire neighborhood. "It's two in the morning!"

"I missed you, sweet-cheeks. I wanted to see you." Blaine said with a soft smile, trying to take Kurt's face in his hands and pull him into a kiss. Kurt angrily grabbed Blaine's wrists and pushed the intoxicated man away from him, wasn't it just his luck that on top of not being able to comprehend the concept of 'breaking up' Blaine was also one of those touchy-grabby sorts of drunk. Not to mention he reeked of booze and semen, turned out he really did go out and found someone to fuck- which, Kurt thought, was just adding insult to injury by coming back here afterwards.

Kurt sighed, as much as he wanted, and every fiber in his being was screaming that he should, he couldn't possibly send Blaine on his merry way in the condition he was in, because chances were he'd end up in a ditch somewhere and Kurt refused to have that on his conscience. He didn't much feel like taking Blaine home himself either, so the only option he had left was to drag a near comatose Blaine behind him to the living room, and pushing him onto the sofa, hoping beyond hope that Mercedes hadn't woken up from the noise.

"Come here, honey, I want to feel you so bad… I want you to fuck me; I need to feel you…" Blaine slurred, lifting an arm and making a grabbing motion towards Kurt who was busy unlacing his shoes and dropping them on the floor. Kurt stopped briefly to shut Blaine a smiting glare but didn't respond. He knew from experience that Blaine was ready to pass out and he wasn't about to make any move to delay that outcome, and indeed, by the time he finished covering Blaine with a blanket the other man was softly snoring. Kurt watched him with disgust and left the living room to lock the front door and leave a note to Mercedes before heading back to bed to try and salvage something of his beauty sleep.

**..oo00oo..**

Blaine groaned in pain when consciousness took over. His head hurt, his back hurt, in fact, pretty much every part of his body hurt and he gingerly opened his eyes only to realize he didn't crash at some nameless fuck's bed, or even his own but on Kurt's sofa last night. Blaine could barely remember where he went last night, so he sure as hell didn't have any recollection of how he got to Kurt's place. It was probably his survival instinct that led him here knowing that Kurt wouldn't throw him out into the night while drunk out of his skull.

Opening his eyes with effort Blaine nearly fell of the couch in shock when he saw Mercedes hovering above him, her expression murderous. His survival instinct may have led him to seek shelter with Kurt but his drunken state caused him to forget Kurt's less than favorable roommate.

None of Kurt's friends ever made it a secret that they didn't like Blaine, nor did any of them thought he was good enough for Kurt. While he and Kurt were still going out they all made a conscious effort to tone down their hatred for the curly haired man but now that they were no longer together the gloves were off, and Mercedes for one thing has had enough of Blaine mooching off of her best friend and waking up in the morning to find Blaine snoring on her couch was definitely the last straw.

"Where's Kurt?" Blaine asked a little timidly, not fully awake yet. Mercedes straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest,

"He's gone to work." She replied shortly, "I suggest you get your shit together and be out of the door before I have to leave too."

"Can I use your shower?" Blaine carefully sat up, feeling his muscles protest at the very thought of movement, his head swimming with pain from the brutal hangover. He hated hangovers, but he never remembered that when he went out binge drinking, and therefore regretted them every single morning after.

"No, I need to be out of here in ten minutes." Mercedes refused to cave into the man's pathetic state. Kurt may be a softy who wanted into Blaine's pants at some point but she had no sentiments for the man who used Kurt so callously for food and sex and never gave back a thing. It was time Blaine learned his place- and it wasn't anywhere near their home or their lives and if Kurt couldn't get rid of the annoying hobbit himself than she'd do it for him. With relish.

"Listen Blaine," She started, pinning the boy down to the sofa with the force of her glare, "You have outstayed your welcome in this house, and maybe Kurt still feels sorry for you but I don't. I never liked you and I never liked the way you treated Kurt, and now that he finally got his senses together and dumped you, you're even less welcome here than before." Bending over to deliver her next words, Blaine actually found himself pressing against the sofa's cushions, "If you ever dare to show your face here again, I'm going to call the police and get a restraining order against you. Is that clear?" Blaine nodded mutely, unable to utter a word. Mercedes straightened up again, looking a little more generously at the pathetic figure on the couch, "There's coffee in the kitchen, you need to be out of here in five, got it?" Blaine nodded again and she left the room to get ready for work.

Blaine let out the breath he was holding and started gathering his things as quickly as he could- deep down he knew this day would come, just like Kurt's insufferable friends caused them to break up in the first place it was obvious they'd try to keep them apart later on. Right now though, Blaine didn't really care, all he wanted was to get home and sleep off the rest of this damned hangover.

**..oo00oo..**

Kurt felt his phone vibrating in his pocket just as he finished scaling yet another sea-bass. Washing his hands he walked out through the back door of the restaurant to the alleyway behind it, fishing the phone out of the pocket of his white smock,

"I got rid of him." Mercedes said promptly, without wasting time on pleasantries. Kurt actually felt quite relieved to hear that, knowing that if Blaine had woken up before he left it would have been a lot harder to kick him out. While he didn't want Blaine in his life in any sort of romantic way or other he still felt sorry for the screw up Blaine inevitably was and that was why he was glad Mercedes took it upon herself to get rid of him. One would hope- for good.

"Thank you." He said softly,

"Kurt, I told him that if he shows up his face again I'm calling the cops." Kurt closed his eyes and leaned against the wall,

"You didn't have to do that…" Mercedes was scary enough when she wanted to be, and Blaine was scared shitless of her anyway, she could have just barked on him to scram.

"Oh, I wasn't kidding Hummel," Mercedes' voice was angry and Kurt was glad she was on the other side of a phone line and not right in front of him, "The next time he shows that ugly, overly gelled head of his anywhere near my home I'm calling your brother and I don't care if the hobbit ends up in jail! I'm done screwing around with this mess, Kurt; I want this jerk out of my life and out of yours!"

"I get it, you're right." Kurt said hurriedly, before Mercedes launched herself into a tirade about how Kurt was a spineless wimp who couldn't even do something as simple as breaking up with a boyfriend on his own. And he sincerely hoped the message will manage to penetrate the industrial amount of gel and thick skull into Blaine's brain this time because after last night, he was ready to call Finn himself and get that restraining order, "Thank you 'Cedes. I'm really sorry I got you involve in this mess."

"That's what BFF's are for." She answered, her tone softening. "I've got to get back to work, I'll see you home tonight, ok?"

"Yeah, see you then." Hanging up Kurt slipped the phone back into his pocket as he leaned back and closed his eyes again, suddenly drained of energy. Gods, he hoped this whole mess was over for good. He should have listened to Mercedes and Santana and all of them right from the start and finish things off with Blaine a long time ago, but that was the sort of thing you can only say in retrospective and right now it didn't really matter how many times they said 'I told you so'.

"Kurt?" Kurt's eyes flew open at the familiar voice. In front of him was the last person he expected to see, frowning at him as if Kurt just landed from another planet,

"Noah! What… Are you stalking me?" Brain, meet mouth, mouth, brain- you two should _really_ try and collaborate sometimes! Noah let out a short laugh,

"You wish! My station is just a couple of blocks away. I'm on my way to work."

"Oh, right." For a long moment the two stood quietly, each trying to think of something to say. Kurt wanted so badly to take back the things he said the last time they met and ask Noah out for coffee but after the way he rejected the other man he seriously doubted Noah would want to go anywhere with him.

"So… You work here?" Kurt was pulled out of his thoughts by Noah's question and he looked behind him at the restaurant's back entrance,

"Yeah."

"As a bartender?" Talking to Kurt sometimes felt like pulling out teeth to Noah. Why was the guy being so difficult? Even a simple friendly conversation was turning into a project with him. And by now Noah realized Kurt was different from all the other guys he's met- sure he wanted in his pants, after all the guy was hot, but it was more than that. For the first time in a long time, Noah actually wanted to get to know the guy, not just bed him and that was a new and exciting feeling to him. Only Kurt insisted on giving monosyllable answers and refusing to even have coffee with him.

"No, that's just a side-job to help pay the bills. I'm a sous-chef here." Noah looked impressed, there was nothing hotter than a guy who knew his way around the kitchen, and working in a kitchen of a fancy Michelin stars decorated restaurant like 'Syvlester' was earning Kurt some major points.

"Nice." Kurt smiled shyly and shrugged, looking so damned cute Noah found he had to resist the urge to push Kurt against the wall and kiss the daylight out of him. But before he could do any such thing a tall woman stepped out of the door, looking angry,

"Porcelain!" She barked and Kurt jumped up, gulping and looking completely busted, "Get that tight ass back in the kitchen before you find yourself on it in the street!" Without waiting for a reply she stormed back into the kitchen. Kurt turned to Noah and smiled apologetically,

"I gotta go…"

"Porcelain?" Noah asked curiously, because yeah, he got why the woman- who he vaguely recognized from the papers as Sue Sylvester, owner and chef extraordinaire of 'Syvlester', would call Kurt 'Porcelain', what with that pale flawless skin of his but it seemed a little weird to have the boss call you by pet names. The most his boss ever did when she felt generous was calling them by their first names instead of the last.

"It's actually one of the more favoring names she's got for us," Kurt said, somewhat defensively. He really didn't mind Chef Sylvester calling him 'Porcelain'; it was definitely a lot better than Santana calling him 'Ladyface'… "I guess I'll… see you around." He waved his hand and quickly disappeared back in the kitchen, before Chef Sylvester would call his name again,

"Yeah, see you." Noah said to the empty alley. Rolling his eyes at himself he hitched his bag higher on his shoulder and continued his way to work.

**..oo00oo..**

For the rest of the day Kurt felt restless. He was trying to figure out what to do about the whole 'Noah situation'- on the one hand, they've met four times now, and he had just learned where Noah worked so he had sort of an excuse to go make amends with the guy, because after the way Kurt treated him the last time they met, Noah was still nice enough to actually talk to him. He could always ask Noah out for coffee, simple and safe and if Noah turned him away it would be no more than Kurt deserved and he would just go on with his sad little life, which would be a shame really because Kurt really needed more guy friends, considering the closest one he had was his brother and talking to Finn usually gave Kurt a headache.

But on the other hand, Kurt really didn't want to end up with a broken heart, and considering his track record with unobtained crushes on straight guys this was a very real possibility and right now he didn't have the emotional strength to suffer a broken heart. Noah was the kind of guy who had people falling at his feet just by looking at them and though Kurt had to fight hard with himself not to, he wasn't one of them. He was never one to be able to pull off one night stands- he tried, but ended up feeling sorry for Blaine and got stuck with the hobbit for life, it seemed. Noah looked like the kind of guy who wouldn't even give a second thought to a guy they bedded and didn't want to see again.

By the time his shift was over he was nowhere near making a decision regarding Noah so he was quite shocked to find himself standing in front of Noah's station, looking at the big red fire trucks and wondering what the hell he was doing and which part of his body gave the order to get here. After about five minutes he realized he'd have to make a move, either into the station or away towards the 'L' train because someone was bound to come along at some point and start question his sanity, plus it was getting cold!

Fortifying himself with a deep breath and a 'what the hell' shrug Kurt bravely soldiered on into the fire-station. Noah was nowhere to be seen and Kurt's heart sank a little, he wondered if he should just turn and leave or actually ask someone where Noah was. Come to think about it, he wasn't even sure when Noah got off work so it was very possible the guy was out in the city somewhere putting out fires and rescuing kittens from trees or whatever and Kurt's grand plan of asking him out for coffee would have to be put on hold, or rather, forgotten completely.

"Hey, you need something?" Kurt looked up startled, at a corner table sat two firefighters, wearing the big yellow trousers and dark blue shirts and playing cards. One of them was a tall Asian man, with handsome face and a relaxed smile, the other was a woman whose expression was pinched like Kurt had offended her personally, and Kurt sincerely hoped that wasn't the case because she looked like she could wrestle him into the ground and then sit on him until he went blue in the face in a matter of seconds. Kurt contemplated turning and running the hell out of there, but he wasn't six anymore and even then it didn't really work so he cleared his throat instead,

"Um, I'm looking for Noah." He said quietly,

"Who the hell is Noah?" The girl's expression turned even more sour than before, but before Kurt could open his mouth again the guy sitting beside her rolled his eyes,

"He means Puckerman." The girl nodded in recognition and part of Kurt sighed in relief, it would have been beyond embarrassing if he also got Noah's station wrong on top of everything else.

"Oh, and who the hell are you?" Kurt was momentarily stunned by the question, what difference did it make who he was? Even if he came with ill intent he wasn't very likely to just come out and declare he was going to harm Noah.

"Um, I'm a friend of his." He said slowly, because really what else could he say?

"Please," The girl waved her hand dismissively, "Puckerman doesn't do friends."

"Come on, that's not true," The Asian guy interjected, "What about that leggy cop?" The girl frowned at him,

"What cop?"

"You know, the freakishly tall one." He said, raising his hand to indicate the tallness of said cop though Kurt imagined it would have been much more impressive if the guy wasn't sitting down,

"Oh, yeah," The girl said with a half-smile, before she frowned at her partner, "Wait, can you even call a guy leggy?" Kurt wanted to roll his eyes, and he knew he could get away with it because the two apparently completely forgot he was still standing there. Taking a small step forward he waved at the two politely,

"Hi," He said brightly and the two turned to him, looking exactly as they did when he first walked in and Kurt had a weird feeling of déjà-vu. "Noah, is he here?"

"Right," The girl said and turned her head towards what Kurt assumed was the back of the station bellowing "PUCKERMAN! YOU'VE GOT A VISITOR!" Both Kurt and the guy flinched a little at the volume of her voice; she had quite a set of lungs on her. A moment later Noah stepped out through the door, shirtless, barefoot, toweling his hair dry and looking so damn delicious Kurt had to avert his eyes, lest the whole station could see that his face matched their trucks in color.

"Zizes!" He cried, fixing the girl with a glare, "How many times do I have to tell you, don't yell so loud! It's an old building, it might collapse!" She gave him a Look and pointed at Kurt. Noah's heart leaped to his throat at seeing Kurt standing there, and he rubbed the back of his neck, "Kurt, hi."

"Hi," Kurt said, fully aware that the two other firefighters were watching their meeting with fascination and suddenly he felt like this was the worst idea in the world, but he was here and Noah was here and it seemed like an even worse idea to just turn and leave now, so he prattled on, hoping he didn't sound as foolish as he felt, "I, um, came over to apologize for being rude and… um, see if, I mean, if you still want to have that coffee…" He finished lamely and refused to lift his eyes from the floor, completely missing the grin that spread over Noah's face,

"Sure, give me two seconds to finish getting dressed." Kurt nodded, feeling very relieved that he wasn't turned down humiliatingly, and in front of an audience. And speaking of said audience both Noah and Kurt looked at the two firefighters who watched them both as if they were the best show in town, before Noah turned back to Kurt, looking a little uneasy, "You might want to wait outside." Kurt nodded and turned towards the exit, very glad to be out of sight. Noah glared at his co-workers for a brief moment to which they replied with toothy grins and disappeared again towards the back of the station.

"Hey Mike," Lauren Zizes turned to her co-worker, grinning devilishly, "Wanna bet on how long this one's going to last?" Mike Chang lifted his hands,

"No, no no no!" He said firmly, "Last time I put money on one of Puckerman hook-ups I lost twenty bucks!" Lauren shrugged,

"That's because you're a romantic wuss." She declared but Mike only shrugged,

"And you're a heartless cynic." He pointed out and she smiled wide,

"A heartless cynic whose twenty bucks richer!" Mike pretended to glare at her but was interrupted by Noah storming out of the station leaving a heavy scent of cologne behind. The two watched him disappear with amused smiles before shrugging and returning to their card game.

**..oo00oo..**

**A/N:** You remember when Sue went to get a tat and the guy messed her name up? I think it was somewhere in season two, and then she made everyone call her Sue Syvlester until she could have it removed?

Well, in this story 'Syvlester' is a super-fancy place, two Michelin stars and very high-end place.

And I just love the idea of Lauren and Mike betting on Puck's conquests when they're feeling bored. To be fair, they do that to everyone in the station who isn't married.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Kurt and Noah ended up sitting in a cozy little coffee shop; they sat facing each other, each nursing his huge steaming mug of coffee with a plate of cookies in between them. Kurt was desperately trying to find a way to start a conversation that didn't sound completely stupid while Noah was just content sitting there watching Kurt fiddling with the sugar packs and looking so nervous Noah had to resist the urge to reach out and take his hand, only he had a feeling Kurt would kick into flight mode and he'll never see him again if he did.

"So, did you always know you wanted to be a firefighter?" Kurt looked up at Noah with wide eyes, this was one of the conversation starters he rejected, damn it! How the hell did that come out aloud?

"Isn't that every little boy's dream?" Noah answered easily but from the look on Kurt's face the answer was apparently 'No'. "Actually I started in Police Academy, just to shut my mother up for Jewish-guilting me about wasting my life and how I would end up a dead beat like my old man." He said while chasing sugar grains on the shiny table top with his index finger so that he wouldn't have to look at Kurt. He hadn't really planned on telling Kurt about his dad, but Kurt was giving him wide eyed stare, hanging off every word that came out of his mouth and frankly, it felt kinda nice,

"You're Jewish?" Noah had a fleeting moment of panic picturing Kurt storming out in a feat of anti-Semitic rage and he already regretted saying too much,

"Shalom…" He said uncertainly and was rewarded with an amused smile.

"And you used to be a cop?" Kurt asked curiously, and Noah nodded,

"It happens you know, Jews love telling people what to do…" Kurt let out a small snort of laughter, nearly spilling his coffee and reaching embarrassedly for a napkin. Feeling more confident that Kurt wasn't going to bolt anytime soon, and far too amused by how cute Kurt looked while blushing he continued, "It was fun at the beginning until I realized I'm going to spend years circling as a precinct cop until I could move onto something more interesting."

"So you decided to become a firefighter instead?" Kurt was trying to understand, he really was but he couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that Noah thought being a cop wasn't dangerous and exciting _enough_! He was probably one of those people who also thought bungee jumping was fun…

"It wasn't so much a decision as a… I don't know, it's…" Noah sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, he knew he came off as a complete idiot right now and he probably was, but that was the whole point- normally he never got to the part of actually talking to a guy he wanted! "We got called to help with a fire one day, and I saw this little girl trapped in the burning building, and sorta jumped in there to save her."

"That's crazy!" Kurt cried before he could stop himself. Taking a sip from his coffee to cover for his embarrassment he asked in a more neutral tone, "So what happened?" Noah shrugged,

"Well, the girl was out scot free, not entirely thanks to me and I ended up in hospital with severe smoke inhalation and a very angry captain on my head."

"I bet." Noah shrugged, youthful mistakes was something that everybody did, true, mostly they didn't involve knowingly risking yours or anyone else's life but still,

"Yeah, well. Lucky for me Captain Schuster was a softy and he actually liked me well enough to let me try out for the fire squad instead of just kicking me out of the force."

"That was nice of him." Kurt said with empathy, trying to think if Chef Sylvester would step up for him if he messed up badly.

"I think he was worried I'd fall in with some bad crowd if I was left without some structure. He was probably right, too." Noah said casually, because now he could. But growing up as he did with an overworked mother and an absent father in a neighborhood that 'dangerous' was a favoring term for, wasn't the easiest thing, and before he managed to get himself sorted and into Police Academy he did some pretty wacked up shit, so falling in with the wrong crowd wasn't as far-fetched as it seemed and Captain Schue had every right to be worried about him and his future.

Kurt looked at Noah from across the table, trying to find the right words that will not come off as condescending. Not that he grew up rolling in cash, but his father had a steady job as a mechanic and they did own half of their garage so they weren't tight for money, mostly. And then, when Kurt was fourteen his father embarked on a political career to stop his son from being constantly bullied in school and now was a State Senator which was nice, and respectable, and in a way very grounding. He couldn't really imagine what sort of life Noah had at the south side of town but the guy turned out alright so he was not going to judge.

"Do you actually _like_ being a firefighter?" He asked instead, because it was safe enough and he knew it'd amuse Noah, even if it meant he thought Kurt was a chicken. Noah let out a bark of laughter, glad that the atmosphere became lighter- he really wasn't trying to fish for sympathy here, because this was not the way he wanted Kurt to see him, even if it got him pity sex- especially if it got him pity sex because that would be very disappointing, and humiliating for him.

"It's the best job in the world! I love it!" Kurt scrunched his nose a little, still looking unconvinced,

"It just seems so… risky." Noah bit his lip for a moment, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. From the second he saw Kurt he instinctively knew he wasn't the sort of guy to do one-night stands, this was the sort of guy who was looking for long-term relationships and probably used words like 'love' and 'living together' and '_marriage_' without flinching, and any potential guy he met was measured by those standards. Not that Noah cared so much and he was pretty sure Kurt wasn't aware he was doing it right now but it still felt nice to know that Kurt was worried that his job might get him maimed or killed one day.

"You work with sharp knives and open flames on a regular basis, isn't that risky?" Kurt opened his mouth to contradict Noah and then seemed to deflate. Working in a kitchen _was_ hazardous and even the most careful cook couldn't escape the occasional accident, and Kurt _was _a careful cook, but he was also prone to very strange accidents- as the 'ladle incident' proved.

"I guess." He finally said slowly, his cheeks pinking with embarrassment at being rebuked.

"So, did you always know you wanted to risk getting sliced and diced every day?" Noah asked with a soft smirk and Kurt let out a snort of laughter, shaking his head,

"No, believe it or not, I actually wanted to be a fashion designer." Noah raked his eyes over Kurt's outfit, it wasn't anything too crazy but it was well thought out and he simply loved the hippo brooch- not a lot of people could pull off a hippo brooch and Kurt did it so amazingly well.

"I can totally believe it." He said in a low voice, causing a small shudder to run down Kurt's spine and he tried hard to fight the blush creeping up. Coughing loudly to cover for his embarrassment Kurt quickly continued, babbling freely and refusing to look up at Noah,

"Yeah, I used to design quite fabulous outfits when I was in high-school. True, they got me more locker-checks and facial slushies than compliments but they were fabulous nonetheless." He added with a little pride creeping into his voice. High school had been a nightmare, naturally, but it was ten times harder for someone who _looked_ as gay as he did. Between fading into the walls and becoming a ghost in his own school and stepping out with pride and being himself as much as possible he chose door number two. Mostly because he had good friends around like Mercedes and Britney to keep him sane and later on, his brother keep him safe. "So, naturally after I graduated high school, I enrolled into fashion school. And hated every second of it." Noah frowned, that was somewhat an unexpected outcome,

"Why?"

"Because it was so competitive, people there would smile at you even while stealing your design from under your nose! And you could never tell when someone gave you a compliment if they were genuine, because mostly they weren't." Kurt mentally winced remembering that dark time, he tried to stick with it as much as he could because he refused to be a college drop-out, not matter how much his parents said it was ok and that he could just choose something else, because at the time there wasn't anything else. "I kept second-guessing my own designs at every turn and felt like a complete failure, it was such a waste of time really."

"Man, that sucks." Noah sympathized, college was such a hard work, and for a second there Noah was glad he was never actually given the option to go to one.

"Yeah…" Kurt nodded, and then shrugged, "But then Mercedes, bless her soul, decided to cheer me up and enrolled us into a cooking class. It was just a basic one and frankly they didn't teach me all that much, but while Mercedes was more interested in getting into the teacher's pants- I found my calling." He finished with a soft smile that made his eyes sparkle.

"Awesome!" Noah nodded in approval, because he knew that feeling- the second he walked into the fire-station he knew he found his calling and that was the best feeling in the world, knowing you were just right for something. "And you work in one of the top restaurants in town, that's amazing."

"It was purely coincidental, I assure you." Kurt said with a little shake of his head, who would have thought that one of his father's biggest donors was a close friend of Chef Sylvester who bitched about being short of staff the second he returned home after graduating? "Chef Sylvester is not an easy person to work with," Hence the constant need of new staff… "Lucky for me she's got a soft spot for people who are… different, so she likes me, in her weird, dysfunctional way." Lowering his eyes Kurt was dismantling a cookie on his napkin, refusing once again to look at Noah. Noah desperately wanted to ask Kurt what it was like growing up gay, because from what he's learned so far, Kurt didn't hide like he did, behind a straight façade and Noah really admired him for that. Where he grew up- kids who couldn't hide their gayness properly were subjected to so much bullying and hatred that only the strongest managed to stay alive long enough to graduate.

"This place is kinda nice," Kurt said, interrupting the heavy silence, causing Noah to perk up from his somber thoughts, "I wasn't expecting it." Noah briefly worried what sort of place Kurt did expect and how much of a dent it would put in his salary if he was ever to ask him out to dinner.

"Oh, yeah? Working in a 2 Michelin star restaurant ruined you for everyone else?" He said jokingly, Kurt blushed and shook his head forcefully,

"No! As a matter of fact I'm a very down to earth sort of guy. I'm not as high-maintenance as I look." He added when he caught sight of Noah's face,

"I never thought you were!" Noah cried defensively, cursing his lack of attention that enabled his feelings to show so clearly that Kurt could read him like an open book,

"Yes, you did. I only work in Syvlester; frankly, I can't afford to eat there." Which, to be honest, was sad and depressing but very the situation of every single worker (apart from Chef Sylvester, of course) in the place.

"So, working in a bar is what keeps you connected to your roots?" Kurt shook his head fondly,

"Working in a bar is what keeps a roof over my head." Because as much as he liked working in a kitchen like Syvlester's, what kept him from living in the street were the tips he got at 'Vicious'. But with a bit of luck and the right investors some day, finger crossed, he could open up the place of his dreams and make his own name in the world.

"Ok, I gotta ask," Noah said, popping a cookie into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully, "What is up with the name of that club? 'Vicious' sounds like a place with a dungeon."

"Who says we don't have one?" Kurt asked slyly nearly causing Noah to choke on his cookie. Taking pity of the man in front of him Kurt quickly elaborated, "No, seriously, it's after Santana. I guess 'Cut throat bitch' just didn't have the right ring to it."

"Nice," Noah said, still laughing and coughing, trying to get rid of the scratchy feeling in his throat. Kurt did another one of little shrugs with his head tilted and his cheeks pinking and it was all Noah could do not to jump his bones right there and then. Instead he took a deep breath, deciding to plunge in, "Look, I know it's a little out of the blue here, but… are you hungry?"

Kurt blinked, feeling panic rising and trying his best to keep it contained, coffee was one thing, it was safe and friendly but dinner? That was like… a date! And he really wasn't sure he could survive a one-sided date with Noah of all people. On the other hand, if he said yes he'll have at least an hour more with Noah and Kurt couldn't bring himself to object the idea,

"I could…" He began carefully, not entirely sure what he was about to actually say, when his phone rang and he breathed a little mental sigh of relief, "Excuse me…" He said to Noah while fishing his phone from his bag, "Hey, M, everything alright?"

"KURT!" Mercedes was yelling so loudly that even Noah heard her loud and clear, even without Kurt pulling the phone away from his ear, "Where the hell are you?"

"What's wrong?" Kurt tried to keep his voice level and even, knowing from experience that if he panicked alongside Mercedes it will only cause a cycle of panic that would leave them both exhausted, but a feeling of dread sank in his stomach, Mercedes usually panicked like that only when she ruined something in his precious kitchen,

"I'm trying to make dinner for Sam and I… I don't know, it's all ruined!" Mercedes wailed dramatically and Kurt found himself actually rolling his eyes, guess you can't take out the diva out of a girl no matter how many years it's been since the high-school's drama club.

"Ok, calm down, and tell me exactly what you did." He ordered as calmly as he could but inside he was seething- how many times did he tell her _not to touch anything in his kitchen_? She was living with a culinary graduate for heaven's sake!

While Kurt was a-ah and umm-ing at Mercedes' words Noah felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, taking it out he opened the text message that turned out to be from Finn and said 'We're never going back to the PH!' Noah rolled his eyes, never going back to the 'Pie-Hole' was just fine by him, but reading between the lines of Finn every so subtle message meant his date with Rachel was a complete bust and now Finn was too afraid to face her again. Noah contemplated between texting back 'Hallelujah' and a sarcastic 'Oh, no…' but he had a feeling Finn won't react well to either, especially the second one- he was notorious for not getting sarcasm, even face to face.

"Ok, ok, just turn everything off and don't touch a thing until I get there!" Kurt practically barked into the phone and Noah's heart sank a little realizing that even if he was about to say yes, Kurt wasn't going to go to dinner with him now. "I'm so sorry, my roommate tried to burn down the kitchen, I need to get home and salvage what's left of it." Noah nodded, trying to hide his disappointment,

"S' cool, my friend just texted me he had a disastrous date last night, I guess I better make sure he's not a danger to himself or others."

"Oh, good!" Kurt said brightly, before catching himself, "I mean, not that your friend had a bad date is good… just that…" sighing deep and frowning a little Kurt grabbed his bag and tried to smile, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment, "I gotta go, see you around then." Before Noah had a chance say anything he fled to the door. Looking down at his phone Noah realized he forgot to ask for Kurt's number, but when he looked up the other man was nowhere to be seen. Noah sighed and slumped back in his chair, apparently he'll have to go over to 'Syvlester' and get Kurt to talk to him again. For now he will just have to content himself with Finn's horror stories.

"What did you do?" He asked when the line connected,

"I didn't do anything!" Finn cried indignantly, and Noah rolled his eyes,

"Maybe that was the problem…" He suggested, partly to annoy Finn and partly because if Finn acted during the date the way he acted before Noah couldn't blame Rachel for never wanting to see the man again,

"No," Finn said in a tone that suggested he knew damn well Noah was trying to push his buttons, "The problem was she wouldn't shut up! I sat there for almost two hours listening to her going on and on and on about herself!" Noah wanted to rip his hair out in frustration, had he taught Finn nothing? Girls took bathroom breaks all the time, was it so hard to pretend some emergency crept up while she was in the toilet? Even someone with Finn's very limited ability to lie and deceive could pull off a passable escape.

"That bad?" He said instead, knowing that Finn won't really appreciate a lecture on what a dating failure he was at the moment,

"I couldn't get a word in!" Finn cried desperately, "It was all about how she was going to be a famous Broadway star someday and what an amazing voice she had and what a talented actress she was! I felt like I was auditioning her!" Noah shook his head, he didn't really expect anything less from Rachel and he was still somewhat shocked that Finn hadn't picked up on it the second they saw her. Guess it was true what they said about guys being led by their dicks…

"So, did she get the part?"

"Not funny!" Finn practically growled, "We're never going to that place again! We need to find a new place to eat!"

"Fine by me, I never wanted to go to that dump anyway." Noah said flatly, you wouldn't catch him having lunch in sordid places just to get into some guy's pants! Especially since the guy he wanted right now worked in a place he could never afford! "We're going to 'Tony's' tomorrow."

"Really?" Finn half whined and Noah wanted to smack him,

"Why, did you date one of their staff too?" Because if Finn decided to saw his wild oats in every diner in Chicago they'll soon be left with no place to go to and that would mean… Noah would have to cook himself, and that was never a pretty sight!

"No," Finn said slowly, "That was _you_!" Noah grinned unabashedly,

"Oh, right, Angelo… Man, he gave _the_ best head…" He reminisced happily while on the other side of the line Finn actually gagged,

"Thank you for that… I don't mind going to 'Tony's', it's just that their food is so spicy, it gives me heartburn." He complained and Noah rolled his eyes,

"Seriously? I had to clog my arteries in that shit hole for months so you could get into Rachel's pants, and you couldn't even do that! We're going to 'Tony's' tomorrow! You owe me!" Noah practically growled into the phone, because he needed good food, or at least much better food than that 'Pie-Hole' dump served and right now he didn't care about Finn's delicate esophagus!

"Fine! But you're paying for my heartburn pills!" Finn barked right back at him, leaving Noah stunned for a second before he huffed a small laugh,

"Alright grandma, whatever you want."

**..oo00oo..**

**A/N: **My sister did a culinary apprenticeship and she had the weirdest accidents- she actually cut herself with a ladle, to this day I'm not entirely sure how…


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Friday was family night at the Hummel-Hudson home. Ever since both Kurt and Finn left home to seek their fortune in the big world Burt and Carole discovered they missed their boys terribly and so Friday dinner was established. The house rule stated that unless you were abroad or more than an hour drive away- you had to show up!

Kurt actually liked Friday dinners- for one thing, Carole was a good cook, better after a couple of handy tips from Kurt, and besides, Fridays was the time he and Carole could indulge in their mutual love of drama series. Currently they were watching 'Homeland', taped on Carole and Burt's DVR and patiently waiting for them all week. While the two were glued to the TV screen, Burt usually sat in his chair pretending to read the paper and occasionally asking questions only to be shushed by his wife and son.

By now, Finn was pretty good at timing his arrival with the ending credits of the show Kurt and his mother were currently watching. He could never understand their fascination with all those law enforcement shows, being a cop himself made him extra sensitive to any errors the writers made and eventually Kurt and Carole forbade him to seat with them unless he could contain his disapproving snorting and interruptions. In the end Finn decided abstention was the best way to go. All in all he supposed he should be grateful they weren't watching 'Sex in the city' or one of those girly shows.

Opening the front door Finn grinned and gave himself a mental high five when he heard the music that signaled the show was just ending. Too bad there wasn't a medal for that sort of thing. Sauntering into the living room he smiled benevolently at his family, received a kiss from his beaming mother and sprawled himself in a chair.

"How are you doing sweetie?" Carole asked, Finn pushed his long legs under the coffee table, his grin widening,

"Oh, I'm great; I had lunch with Puck today." He said, looking at Kurt who was busy flipping through the TV channels, a vaguely bored expression on his face,

"That's nice, how's Puck doing these days? We haven't seen him in so long," Carole said, causing Burt to finally lower the paper and stop pretending to read to fully listen in,

"He's met someone new, who works at 'Syvlester'." Kurt perked up at the mention of his restaurant,

"I didn't hear of anyone having a new beau," He said thoughtfully, "And who's Puck anyway?" Finn bit down on the smile that was fighting its way up- Kurt could be a real bitch when he thought he was being laughed at,

"My friend, who is a firefighter." He replied and immediately wished he brought a camera along, because the expression on Kurt's face was just priceless.

"Noah?" Kurt asked slowly, as if he wasn't entirely sure he pieced the puzzle together correctly. Finn nodded enthusiastically, his grin returning full force,

"Why didn't you tell me, man?" He cried, the only thing stopping him from slapping Kurt's back in congratulation was his brother's less than thrilled expression; instead he leaned back and beamed at Kurt as if he personally made it happen. As a matter of fact, it has crossed Finn's mind to fix his brother and his best friend up in the past but he always feared that their polar opposite approach to relationships would make this sort of date officially a disaster and he really didn't want both of them to end up hating him.

"Wait a minute!" Burt interjected, finally catching on with what was going on, "You're dating Puckerman?" He fixed Kurt with one of his fatherly Looks, the ones he saved for when Kurt showed a particular interest in a certain boy. He couldn't help it; to him Kurt would always be his little boy.

"How come everyone knows Noah?" Kurt wondered aloud, he's been contemplating contacting Noah again for another coffee meeting but now it seemed he could just invite him over for family dinner and make everyone happy! He hated being left out of the loop like that, "And we're not dating!" He added firmly, but from the looks on his family's faces he knew it was too little and way too late.

"You were in Europe." Burt said, waving his hand dismissively like it was any sort of excuse not to tell Kurt things. "It's a really small world, you and your brother's best friend…" Burt made a vague motion with his hands that had Carole and Finn frowning and Kurt burying his face in his hands- it is a small world indeed, and a very humiliating one for Kurt!

"We're not dating!"

"How did you even meet?" Carole asked curiously, completely ignoring Kurt desperate exclamation, it's been so long since she got to hear about her boys' love life and she wasn't about to let such a juicy piece of gossip left unexplored to her full satisfaction,

"Remember last month there was a fire at the club Kurt works in?" Finn had a huge smirk on his face, thoroughly enjoying Kurt's discomfort. Kurt shot him a glare that promised a world of pain later but right now Finn didn't care.

"Aww, and Noah saved you from the flames…" Carole gushed and Kurt gaped at her, "It's so romantic." Finn meanwhile was positively howling with laughter, holding onto his stomach,

"We are _not_ dating!" Kurt intoned slowly, stressing every word, "We had coffee, once!"

"I like Noah; he's such a nice boy." Carole said dreamily and Kurt wondered if he someone pressed the mute button on him- he could feel his mouth moving, and he distinctly heard the words coming out of it but no one else seemed to hear them! "I was really surprised he agreed to do that calendar." She added thoughtfully and if Kurt thought his day wasn't humiliating enough, a whole new world of shame just opened up! And the worst part was- his father saw just how quickly his face took on the hue of a ripe tomato!

"What calendar?" Burt asked suspiciously, confirming Kurt's fear that this was not going to end well. Carole lifted her head, seeing Kurt's wide-eyes stare and red face and immediately tried to cover up for her blunder,

"It was for a good cause, mind you." She tried to appease her husband and Kurt wanted to smack his forehead, or better yet- smack Carole. Was it really any wonder that Finn turned out the way he has?

"What calendar?" Burt repeated slowly, knowing full well that he wasn't going to like the answer but unable to resist himself, he knew his son too well after all.

"They took a bunch of guy firefighters and photographed them naked." Finn supplied gleefully, bravely ignoring the fact that Kurt was glaring daggers at him the size of ten foot spears. Burt looked at his son, who was silently fuming in his seat and doing his best to wish Finn would keel over and die a horribly painful death right that instant. He'd known Kurt was gay pretty much from the start and he was 110% supportive of him, but that definitely did _not _mean he ever wanted to know that his son was pleasuring himself over… pornography!

"Porn? Puckerman is doing porn?" Burt asked, because this was so wrong on so many levels! Not only did he never thought he'd actually meet a porn star in person, and never really wanted to! But this could also be a complete disaster to his political career, being affiliated with a known porn star, who was not only his stepson's best friend but also the new paramour of his son! Kurt buried his face in his hands, wishing the ground would just swallow him up whole. A little part of him just _knew_ that if Noah was here right now he'd find the situation even more hilarious than Finn.

"It wasn't porn!" He cried, and seriously, that was the sort of thing he _never, ever_ wanted to discuss with his family, EVER! "It was artistic nudity." Yeah, like that was going to convince his overprotective father that Noah wasn't some sort of sex deviant.

"What the hell does that means?" Kurt closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly,

"It means there were no exposed bits." Carole supplied helpfully before Kurt could come up with a proper explanation, gesturing vaguely to her nether regions and Kurt wanted to die all over again. He briefly contemplated storming out and be done with this humiliation and maybe salvage what was left of his sanity but he knew his family too well and they had the unfortunate knack of getting things intentionally wrong, and he just had to make sure they didn't get _this _anymore wrong than they already had!

"I'm not sure I want you dating a nude model," Burt said thoughtfully, "Even if it is Puck."

"We are not dating!" Kurt finally exploded, yelling so loudly his whole family blinked at him in shock, "I am not having this conversation anymore!" He told his family firmly, because really, enough was enough and maybe if he and Noah _were_ dating he'd try harder to convince them of Noah's good intentions but they weren't so this whole conversation was just as pointless as it was humiliating. "Why don't we talk about Finn's love life for a change?" He added sweetly with an evil glint in his eye and Finn immediately stopped his crazy laughter and shot Kurt a warning glare which his brother promptly ignored, "How is _Rachel_ doing these days?" Carole perked up, a hopeful smile spreading on her face,

"Rachel? Who is Rachel?" Finn shot a smug looking Kurt a venomous glare before he slumped back in his chair, grumbling,

"I really hate you sometimes!"

**..oo00oo..**

Noah was having a quiet night in, it wasn't a very usual occurrence on a Friday night, but lately he just didn't really feel all that eager to go out and chat-up all those boys you never knew the name of and faces you forgot the second you turned your back on, so he put some Frank Sinatra on and danced around his living room with a beer bottle in his hand and nothing on but a pair of boxer-briefs and socks.

Ever since he had coffee with Kurt he was on cloud 9, feeling very good about himself even though they never did agree on a follow-up meeting, but Noah was confident it'll happen very soon, like on Monday when he will stop at 'Syvlester' and work his charms on Kurt to get him to agree to go to dinner with him.

His phone started ringing and Noah danced his way towards it, frowning at the unfamiliar number, hoping it wasn't Captain Beiste, his boss, calling from an unidentified number with an emergency that would require his presence at work.

"Hello?" He said promptly,

"Noah?" Noah felt his knees buckle with surprise at the familiar and unexpected voice on the other side of the line and he quickly sat down on the couch, reaching for the remote to turn the music off,

"Kurt?" He asked somewhat breathlessly, his heart doing a little embarrassing happy jig in his chest, "How did you get this number?"

"My brother gave it to me." Kurt answered with a smile, though 'gave' was a bit of strong word for what actually went down in the Hudson-Hummel house right after dinner. Kurt wasn't very proud of what he had to do, which was practically tackle Finn down and stealing his phone in order to get Noah's number, but Finn was so annoying and kept taunting Kurt about how he and Noah 'weren't dating' and why the hell did he need his number if they 'weren't dating' that eventually Kurt was left with little choice but to turn to violence. Actually, he _should_ be proud- Finn was much physically stronger than him, plus he was so damn tall it was like a tree falling over.

"Your brother?" Noah asked curiously,

"Yes, Finn Hudson."

"Holly crap! Hudson is your brother?" Noah momentarily panicked, trying to remember if he told Finn anything embarrassing about his crush on Kurt, because the last thing he wanted was scaring the guy away by being too eager, especially now that it turns out he knew Kurt's family! After all, Finn was a good guy, but he was so bad at keeping secrets sometimes Noah wondered how he was even recruited to the police force. "Wait, that means you're Senator Hummel's boy!" At the other side of the line Kurt rolled his eyes, it was bad enough being called 'Senator Hummel's boy' by his father's political donors, who still saw him as a 15 years old poster boy for his father's cause, he really didn't want or need Noah to do the same!

"Yes." He said flatly. Noah heard the cold tone winced a little; apparently the shock of hearing Kurt calling _him_ was causing him to babble like an idiot,

"Your father talks about you all the time, I just never made the connection. Besides, I thought you were in Rome." Kurt chuckled, he had no doubt his father talked about all the time, he could be embarrassing like that, good thing he had the foresight to hide all the albums with his baby pictures before he left,

"It was Paris, but I'm back now."

"Wow, Paris… That sounds like fun." Noah said wistfully, for someone who's barely gone beyond state lines in his entire life Paris was as far and exotic as they came and he could just picture Kurt walking down a Parisian street with a baguette under his arm and turning the heads of all the French boys. Suddenly Paris didn't seem like such a great place to him…

"Trust me, it wasn't. I stayed with my grandmother while I was in school. For three years…" And his grandmother wasn't an easy person on the best of days but combined with her hatred to Burt and the fact she firmly believed he stole away her daughter from her and she ended up dying in a foreign land just made staying with her an extra special torture, but tuition was expensive enough without having to worry about rent as well so for three years Kurt bit his tongue, ground his teeth and soldiered on bravely, only allowing himself to crack on his weekly call to Mercedes.

"Then why did you go to Paris in the first place?" Noah asked and then did a double take on his words, "I mean, I _know_ why you'd want to go to study cooking in Paris, but doesn't the States have some pretty good culinary schools too?"

"Yes," Kurt admitted softly, "But my mother was French, so I had the passport and the language, it just seemed to make sense at the time." Pulling his knees to his chest, he was glad Noah was nowhere near him. Talking to new people about his mother was always painful, and sometimes it was easier not to correct them when they assumed Carole was his birth mother. But Noah was different, first off, he already knew that Carole was his stepmother, as it turned out, and besides Kurt felt comfortable telling Noah things he didn't tell anyone else, even Blaine never knew about his mother- not that he ever cared but still.

"It seems so weird that I know your family better than I do you." Noah said quietly, and Kurt took a deep breath, well, this was actually the reason he called in the first place, and he really didn't feel like killing the mood of the call with sob stories about his dead mother, licking his lips and taking a deep fortifying breath he took the plunge,

"Yeah, I was kinda hoping we could rectify it- they're having a superheroes month at the 'Old Theatre' so I thought we could catch 'The X-men' tomorrow…" Kurt bit his lip in anticipation for Noah's answer. On the other side of the line Noah was practically glowing with happiness and only by sheer will he was still remained seated and not dancing and hopping around his place,

"You like comics?" He asked incredulously, trying to refocus himself before he said something really stupid that would cause Kurt to rethink the whole plan and cancel on him,

"Of course, it was the only thing Finn and I could agree on when we were younger," Kurt answered with a smile, because he long ago learned that getting upset when people assumed things about him was just a waste of energy, "Besides, it's hot fit guys in tight outfits, what's not to like?" And to that Noah could only laugh, because frankly, Kurt had a very valid point.

"You're on then!"

**..oo00oo..**

**A/N:** I've never seen 'Homeland' to be honest, I watched half of the first season of the Israeli series it's based upon but that's it. I did found the fact that in the beginning of the second season Claire Danes walks in a street that is meant to be Beirut and you see a sign of 'Coca-Cola' in Hebrew because they shot it in Tel Aviv hilarious- I guess here it was funnier in a morbid sort of way because if you put a Hebrew sign in Lebanon, you'll probably get shot. BTW- I read that Lebanon wants to sue the creators of 'Homeland'…

Anyway, I was contemplating using one of my all time favorites- like 'The Wire' or 'CSI- Las Vegas' but I wanted something more current and 'Homeland' just took home a bunch of Emmy's or whatever so it fitted.

There was a Frank Sinatra song on the radio when I wrote the second part of this chapter, can't even remember which but I can definitely see Noah dancing around half naked trying to do Sinatra.

True, it is never mentioned that Kurt's mother was anything but American, but that's my story, so live with it! Kurt does speak French, with a charming accent I might add.

I've never been to Chicago, so I don't know if they've got an 'Old Theatre'- but the point of this place is to show films that are not current blockbusters. I love our version of the 'Old Theatre' (called the Cinemateque), it shows oldies and foreign films and quite a lot of gay cinema, so that's way cool.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Kurt pushed his hands deeper into the pockets of his coat, bouncing on the soles of his feet a little to fend off the cold. Pulling his hand out he checked the time, again, and realized Noah had 4 minutes before he was officially late. Resuming his pacing in front of the theatre Kurt wondered if Noah might be one of those people who could never make it on time anywhere, a notorious tardy- Mercedes was one and it drove Kurt insane.

Kurt hated being late, it was disrespectful to the people he made plans with and he preferred to leave home even an hour early and not be late. If Noah turned out to be like Mercedes he'd have to revise his whole plan making strategy, like he did with Mercedes, but if Noah didn't show up soon not only will he be disrespectful to Kurt's time, he'll also miss the movie, and ruin their date.

Date. Oh gods, they were going out on a date… No, No! Not a date, a… a joined viewing of a film amongst friends! Yes, it was just a friendly outing, taking place in a dark hall, with plushy seats and a shared armrest, with only a bunch of superheroes led by Gandalf and Captain Picard to distract him from the physical perfection that was Noah next to him. Oh boy…

Kurt looked around him, seeing no sign of Noah and worried his lip- he could just slip away before Noah showed up, just run home like the coward he was and text Noah some excuse as to why he couldn't make it. Noah probably wouldn't really mind, he was probably still at home dragging his feet and time before he left to meet Kurt. If he was even planning on meeting Kurt! Kurt pursed his lips angrily; Noah was actually planning on standing him up? Bastard!

"Kurt!" Kurt nearly jumped out of his skin, spinning around and almost losing his balance. Ok, so apparently Noah wasn't going to stand him up… "I'm sorry I'm late, the 'L' was so packed it took ages go get off the platform." He said with an easy grin and Kurt looked down at his watch and realized Noah was only a couple of minutes late.

"It's ok," He said, feeling his face flushing all the way to the tip of his ears, it was a good thing Noah couldn't read his mind, though with the way his face was changing colors it was pretty obvious what was going on in his head- damn you pale skinned European heritage! "Let's get the tickets." He said, hoping he didn't sound like he was barking at poor Noah who actually showed up, and on time.

They took their places in the tickets line and Kurt resumed his bouncing. Noah wondered how Kurt will react if he tried to put his arm around him in public. He could practically feel the nervous energy pouring off of Kurt and he was well aware he might end up with a dislocated shoulder. He has spoken to Finn earlier that day and his best friend had been adamant that Noah never piss Kurt off, there was also mention of bruising and Noah _really_ didn't want to know. Besides, he had no intention of pissing Kurt off on their first date! Noah grinned wide, they were out on a date and it was going to be awesome! Kurt's phone suddenly came to life and he frowned at it before grabbing Noah's wrist and pulling him out of the line,

"What do you want Santana?" He asked in a bored tone, or at least he hoped it sounded bored enough,

"You need to shift your ass over, Ladyface, stat!" Santana practically barked into the receiver and for a second Kurt was left gob-smacked by the sheer audacity,

"I don't _need_ to do anything, _Satan_," He replied calmly, knowing it will only annoy her more, "I'm not working tonight." Noah looked at Kurt, his heart sinking when he realized Kurt might bail on their date. Sure, he was _saying_ 'no', but he met Santana and he knew that word didn't really exist in her vocabulary.

"Jess called in sick, Tina's got a shift in the hospital, Unique teaches her tranny class tonight and David is out of the country! I'm out of shift managers!" Kurt rolled his eyes,

"Ok, you knew very well that David went to Canada to get married to his partner, Ben." He explained slowly, as if Santana was likely to forget, she was the one who threw him the bachelor party- complete with a male stripper! "And don't call it 'tranny class', it's a drag workshop and it's really good!"

"Whatever!" Santana barked dismissively, and no, Unique's workshop wasn't _that _good, not after she went over to show some moral support and they all thought _she_ was a drag queen! "I need you over here."

"Santana, I have plans." Kurt tried to object but he knew he was weakening. He also knew that if he hung up on her she'd just find a way to track him down and bodily drag him to work.

"Cancel them." Santana said simply, and the thing was- on any other day he wouldn't have minded stepping in but not tonight, not if it meant canceling his plans with Noah.

"No!"

"Kurt please, I'm begging you…" Kurt closed his eyes, damn it! Santana _never_ begged, and she rarely used his real name, she must be desperate. Rubbing the bridge of his nose he conceded defeat,

"I really hate you!" On the other side of the line Santana was beaming with relief,

"Thanks, Kurt, you're a life saver! See you in 15!" She cried and hung up before Kurt had a chance to change his mind. Looking over at Noah Kurt felt guilty, and stupid and he seriously wanted to burst in tears right now,

"Bad news?" Noah asked gently, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer already,

"You didn't get the tickets yet, did you?" Noah shrugged,

"It's a little difficult when you're cutting off the circulation to my hand." He replied and Kurt blushed furiously, releasing his wrist as if it was burning him. Noah didn't mind at first that Kurt was holding him, far from it, but as his talk with Santana progressed and he became more agitated Noah realized what Finn was talking about when he mentioned pain. Flexing his fingers he tried to bring a little life back into them, much to Kurt's embarrassment.

"I'm really sorry," Kurt said, looking like a kicked puppy, "I need to get to work." This seriously sucked! Was it too much to ask to go to a movie with a friend once in a blue moon? Not that he wasn't happy for his friends for pursuing their love and passions but did they really all have to do that on the same weekend?

"'S cool," Noah said, and Kurt looked suspiciously at him, because he actually sounded like he meant it, "Mind if I tag along?"

"You want to go to the bar with me?" Kurt asked slowly, as if he was questioning Noah's sanity- which he wasn't! But that didn't mean he was not surprised. Noah shrugged and grinned, it wasn't so much that he wanted to go to watch Kurt work all night and ignore him again, but he figured if he was also behind the bar this time, it'll be a lot harder for Kurt to pretend he wasn't there.

"Sure, sounds like fun, I've never worked in a bar before." Noah said, hoping Kurt will get the message that he wasn't about to just sit on a stool all night drinking whiskey. Kurt peeked at Noah from under his eyelashes, trying to figure out Noah's angle.

"You know we don't pour water on ourselves and dance on the bar-top, right?" He said with a small bemused smile, because really- someone had to… Noah rolled his eyes and laughed,

"You're never gonna give this one up, are you?" He shook his head fondly, "I told you, my ex made me watch that movie, he was obsessed with Tyra Banks, he made me watch all million and one cycles of 'America's next top model', what a nightmare!" While Noah was babbling and trashing his ex's name Kurt felt like someone had pulled the rug from under his feet. He? Noah's ex was a he? And just like that Kurt's last line of defense came crashing down. At least when he was able to convince himself that Noah wasn't into guys he could pretend nothing bad could happen to his heart but now stakes were much higher and Kurt could feel the familiar tug of dread in the pit of his stomach- the one that always appeared to whisper doubts in Kurt's ear just when things were going well. It wasn't the healthiest way to start a relationship…

"Kurt?" Kurt blinked at Noah who was looking at him expectantly, "So, can I come?" Noah looked so excited about the idea of going to the club with Kurt that he really didn't have the heart to say no,

"Sure, let's go." He said, trying to plaster a convincing smile on his face, and they started making their way towards the 'L'. All through the train ride Kurt was withdrawn and pensive and Noah wondered what the hell had changed since Santana's call. It wasn't like Noah hadn't seen Kurt work before, and sure, being called into work when you weren't supposed to sucked, but Kurt seemed sort of ok with it when Santana called. When they arrived at the doors of 'Vicious' Santana was there, looking impatient and ready to lash out,

"Ladyface!" She barked, "What's the house policy on bringing hook-ups to work?" She glared at Noah who flushed a little, both at the reprimand and its insinuation, in his eagerness to make his time with Kurt last longer he forgot how mean Santana could be. Kurt, instead of turning red as Noah might have expected, just gave his boss a cool, unimpressed look,

"What's the policy on dragging people in on their night off?" He said slowly, but the anger was bubbling underneath, waiting to be unleashed, "Because I can just walk right back out!" Noah could feel the want pooling in his stomach, gods Kurt was sexy when angry! He watched as Santana and Kurt engaged in a short battle of wills, but everyone present knew the power was in Kurt's corner and eventually Santana lifted her head and snapped,

"Just make sure he keeps away from the cash register!" She barked, hating to have to swallow her pride like that, but Kurt was a good shift manager and she couldn't afford to lose him over something as silly as that, especially since she was one of those who practically shoved Noah on him in the first place, so for now she would just have to cut her loses and go torment some other unfortunate soul. Noah silently followed Kurt to the back room to put their coats,

"I can definitely see why she named the place 'Vicious'." Noah said lowly, looking over his shoulder in case Santana came back for some more yelling. Kurt looked at him, biting his lip to keep the chuckles in, seeing Noah all worried about Santana like that was lifting his mood significantly,

"I don't know why, but I like her." He shook his head fondly. When he first met Santana, back in senior year, 'like' was the furthest thing from his mind, and he didn't really mince words telling Brittany exactly what he thought of her new girlfriend. But of course she wouldn't listen, and then Mercedes met Santana and actually _liked_ her, so Kurt was left with little choice but to bond. It took a while but eventually the two of them found common ground and became friends. "Come on, I'll show you around."

As soon as the doors opened and people started pouring in Kurt realized his biggest mistake- introducing Noah into a den of gays! And what's more, Noah was a natural flirt, he just needed to flash that gorgeous grin of his and men were practically falling at his feet! Seriously, it was so unfair, Kurt was never that comfortable flirting, to him it was like acting, putting on the mask of 'bartender Kurt' just to get those men to like him enough to give him good tips, but Noah… Noah was _enjoying_ himself. Kurt wanted to kick himself, because really he had only himself to blame- now that could sort of admit to himself that there might actually be something between them, because Noah didn't look like the guy who'd work so hard just to make someone their friend, he's only gone and brought him to the last place he should have! And if Noah decided to leave with any one of those pretty boys vying for his attention- it would be no more than Kurt deserved.

"Hey sweet-cheeks." Kurt's head snapped up, a vague expression of revulsion crossing his face,

"What are you doing here?" He nearly barked at Blaine, who seemed to have a knack to finding the most unsuitable times to come and hassle Kurt, and right now his timing couldn't have sucked more.

"Come on Sweets, don't I get a kiss?" Blaine wriggled his eyebrows in what he thought was a flirting manner at Kurt, as usual completely ignoring what Kurt was saying. Kurt crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw tightening. He briefly wondered if he should call Izimio, the bouncer to get rid of the nuisance but decided to try and handle things by himself, Santana was bound to make fun of him either way.

"Why would you get a kiss?" He asked coldly, hoping that for once in his life Blaine will get the fucking message, only Blaine didn't seem to want to because he climbed on his stool to kneel on it and reach for Kurt, trying to caress his face. Kurt jerked backward in surprise; he should have guessed Blaine would already be drunk when he came over. "You need to leave; you know Santana doesn't want you here!"

"Do you want me here?" Blaine flashed one of his gorgeous smiles, the one that got Kurt interested in him in the first place, but now just made him sick to his stomach,

"No!" Noah looked up from the other side of the bar, sensing the change in atmosphere around Kurt. Up until this second he was having a great time, all those guys gushing over him was making him feel like king of the world, and watching Kurt work was always sexy- the way he could handle his little court, smiling and paying attention to each and every one of his clients, how sure he was when there was this massive wooden bar separating him from them and creating his own little kingdom of booze. But now he was standing in front of a guy who was trying to touch him and Kurt looked like he wanted to hit him and Noah knew there was trouble brewing.

"You're so sexy when you're angry…" Blaine purred, trying to get Kurt to get over his funk and come over to him, but suddenly a tall, well build guy loomed over Kurt, touching his arm softly, and Blaine wanted to throw something at him, how dare he interrupt?

"Kurt, is everything alright?" Noah asked quietly, not wanting to alert Santana to any potential trouble makers, just in case she decided to throw him out as well,

"Who's that?" Blaine asked nastily, "Your new lay? You're quick to toss people aside, Kurt." Kurt blinked in shock at Blaine for a second before he found his voice again,

"We broke up over a month ago!" He was truly getting tired of saying that, why didn't anyone seem to get what he was saying? Did he suddenly develop a rare speech impediment that caused everyone around him not to hear a word he was saying? "Not that it's any of your business, but Noah and I are just friends." From behind Kurt back Noah shot Blaine a dark glare and Blaine realized Kurt might see them as just friends, but Noah certainly didn't,

"We were good together," He reached for Kurt again, who slapped his hand aside, "Sweet-cheeks, you know we were." Kurt shot him one of his patented 'Are you kidding me?' looks that Blaine hated so much,

"No, Blaine, we weren't. You were using me for food and sex!"

"So now you found this… _Neanderthal_ to replace me?" Kurt was reaching the end of his patience very quickly and if Blaine didn't shut up and leave _right now_, there will be trouble!

"Shut up, Blaine!" He cried at the same time Noah let out an indignant cry,

"Hey, that was uncalled for!" Blaine didn't even bother to look at Noah, his eyes still fixed on Kurt and an ugly expression marring his features,

"Oh, it speaks as well." Before Noah could do any more than gape at the man, Kurt's arm pulled back and his fist flew to meet Blaine's unsuspecting face, catching him right under the eye and sending him flying to the floor. Kurt stood frozen for a second, his chest heaving, before the excited hubbub penetrated his ears. Looking around him he realized everyone around the bar, who no doubt followed the argument closely were cheering for him. Pinking fast he turned tail and ran to hide in the back room.

Sitting on an upturned beer case Kurt put his head in his hands; his right hand was red and throbbing, mostly because he'd stuck it in the ice freezer until he couldn't feel his fingers. At least the skin wasn't broken, because that would have been beyond embarrassing.

"My, my, looks like you're ladyhands as well as Ladyface." Kurt lifted his head to glare at his boss,

"Do you want me to punch you too?" Santana smiled sweetly at him, coming to sit next to him,

"Oh, sweetie, you just try and I _will _cut you." Kurt let out a little laugh, and Santana patted his knee affectionately,

"Go home, fix your hand. I'll get Brit to come and help me out." For a second Kurt wanted to argue, especially since he knew what a mess Brittany made when put behind the bar, but the truth was, he didn't feel much like staying here and become the center of attention with that little stunt he pulled. Kurt was not a violent person, Gaga knows he suffered enough of it in his youth, and his dad always taught him that you should always solve your problems by talking them through, but there was no talking to Blaine and having him stalking Kurt was one thing, but insulting his friends was another altogether. Nodding in thanks at Santana she bestowed a sweet smile on him and left, passing an uncomfortable looking Noah on her way out. As soon as the door closed behind her back Noah stepped forward, taking Kurt's injured hand and examining it carefully. Kurt hissed in pain when Noah flexed his fingers to check for fractures, but he was pretty sure he did more damage than receiving it.

"I've never had anyone hitting someone for me before." He observed with a smile, and Kurt huffed another laugh,

"Yeah, well don't get used to it!" He said, flexing his fingers carefully, "What the hell is his jaw made of?" Noah chuckled, rising from his seat to grab their coats, fun as it was working in a bar and all, you should always know when to make your grand exit.

**..oo00oo..**

**A/N:** Originally it was supposed to be Jesse St. James who got sick, but then I realized that if Santana was running a club she'd have at least as many girls as guys if not more running it so I gave Jesse a bit of a 'chop', and turned him into Jessica. Plus, I already used all the really cool girls in the glee-verse already…

BTW, here Tina is in med school. Sam is a male-nurse in the hospital. And if you really care than Mercedes is a social worker- a little lesson in humility for her… She occasionally sings in a bar just to give the Diva in her some breathing space.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Noah and Kurt walked the streets in silence. Noah wasn't sure where they were going but as long as Kurt didn't tell him to get lost he had no intention of leaving. True, the evening didn't pan out the way he'd planned but that didn't mean he wanted it to be over.

"So," He started somewhat hesitantly, "Do… Do you want to talk about it?" Kurt, who was walking hunched into himself and looking bristled like an angry cat, drew further into himself,

"No." Noah nodded, he didn't really expect Kurt to be very chatty right now but he really didn't know what to say to make things better. Kurt turned his head to look at Noah, seeing his pinched expression and sighed- he was acting like a douche, and he really didn't want to be a douche to Noah, who actually stuck with him when he could have his pick of any guy he wanted back in the club. "I met him at 'Vicious'," he started, burrowing his face deeper in his scarf so that his words came out slightly muffled, "We hit it off right away, we liked the same things, music, fashion, coffee. For a while I actually thought we could make it the long run." Looking back at things Kurt found it hard to believe he ever thought he and Blaine were compatible, sure they liked a lot of the same things but Blaine was the sort of selfish guy he'd always warned Mercedes against and now he hated himself for not trusting his instincts back then. "All my friends saw right through him but I guess it was easier for me to ignore the fact that he was selfish and self-absorbed and a really lousy boyfriend who was basically just using me."

"What changed?" Noah tried to keep his voice neutral but inside he just wanted to track that Blaine down and finish what Kurt had started! How dare this asshole treat someone like Kurt so badly? Sure, he could be sarcastic and prickly when he was angry but when he smiled it was like the room lit up and Noah wanted to do everything he could to see that smile as often as possible. Boy, did he have it bad…

"He didn't show up for my birthday party and somehow it became my fault." Kurt answered flatly.

"That sucks." He said, kicking himself for not being able to come up with something better. True, dealing with someone else's drama and emotional baggage was one of the main reasons Noah avoided relationships as much as possible, but when someone did manage to stick around he never ignored them or forgot their birthday! Noah prided himself on being a very gracious and thoughtful gift giver. He made a mental note to ask Finn when was Kurt's birthday.

"Yeah, I finally realized I was better off alone than letting him control my life like that." Kurt said truthfully, hoping he didn't come off as too needy and clingy that he couldn't stay a second without someone. It was just he'd spend so much time alone as a kid, just him and his dad whenever he had time, that sometimes it felt like he was trying to compensate by working too hard to maintain relationships that were doomed from the start. "The only problem is, he refuses to get the message into his thick skull." Hopefully tonight's punch will do the trick, because if not- he was definitely going to call Finn for a restraining order!

"Look, I'm really sorry the evening was such a bust." He apologized, no matter what you call it- this evening was bad! And Kurt felt responsible, after all he was the one who called in the first place inviting Noah to a movie, and instead he got stuck at work and ended up giving his costumers a show as well as drinks. Noah cast a side-glance at Kurt,

"It was actually kinda fun." He confessed with a crooked smile that did really strange things to Kurt's stomach. Though it was nowhere near how Noah pictured their night going- if he had it his way they'd be in bed right now, naked, after at least two rounds of mind-blowing sex and possibly fighting over which Wolverine is hotter, he couldn't say the night was a total loss. Seeing this new, darker side of Kurt had been just as exciting as watching the X-men. Kurt snorted,

"I have a feeling that watching the X-men would have been a whole lot more fun." For a brief second Noah wondered if Kurt was picturing their evening ending the same way he did- gods, he hoped so…

"Then watching you kick your ex's ass?" Noah shook his head, "I seriously doubt it." Kurt rolled his eyes and did that cute bashful shrug of his and Noah decided to go for and give into the urge that been plaguing him all night to kiss Kurt, when the other man opened his mouth to talk,

"And I made you work on your night off, I'm really sorry." Noah stuck his hands in the pockets of his coat and took a step backwards, trying to swallow his disappointment at Kurt's obliviousness,

"Hey, I asked you to take me there, besides," He added with a shrug and a smirk, "I made nearly three hundred bucks in like an hour!" Kurt smiled back, this was definitely the best part of working in a bar, coming home with a nice pile of green bills that felt, oh so good inside one's wallet. "Plus, all those guys falling over themselves to get my attentions can't be bad for the ego." Noah added with a wriggle of his eyebrows that pulled a hearty laugh out of Kurt. This was the second best thing about working in a bar.

"I knew it!" Kurt cried out gleefully, "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist all that male attention!" Sobering up a little he added, "You should be careful though, that sort of thing can mess with your head."

"Like with that asshole Blaine?" As soon as he heard the words coming out of his mouth Noah knew he fucked up real good. Reaching for Kurt, whose expression turned stony, he tried to salvage what was left, "Shit, Kurt, I'm so sorry, I don't know why I said that." Kurt shrugged, feeling so cold all of a sudden,

"It's ok," He said stiffly, "You're right. I was lonely and I paid for it." Noah was just about ready to kick his own ass for his insensitivity when Kurt withdrew further into himself, "I should get home, it's late." His voice was flat and Noah could feel the evening slipping between his fingers, and he really didn't want Kurt to leave angry, or at all.

"Kurt, I'm really sorry…" He began desperately, but Kurt waved a hand at him,

"It's ok, I'm just beat, and I need to get up for work tomorrow. Good night Noah." He said, his voice was cool and distant and he didn't even bother to look at Noah, which hurt more than what he was actually saying.

"Good night, Kurt." He replied softly, knowing he dug his own grave and therefore conceded defeat, "We'll be in touch, ok?" Kurt nodded absently, already turning to walk towards the nearest 'L' station. Noah watched him disappear, and rubbed his face tiredly,

"Fuck!"

**..oo00oo..**

Kurt walked through the halls engrossed in the papers he received and tried to make sense of them. If it wasn't for his father he'd never spend his day off trying to get a tax refund for 160 bucks. Sure, 160$ were nothing to sneeze at but after the harrowing morning he just had, Kurt was wondering if it was worth all the waiting, form filling, waiting, running around from one clerk to the next and then some more waiting. Probably not.

All he wanted to do right now was to go home and spend the rest of his day off contemplating calling Noah. When he left Noah on Saturday he had been genuinely upset- even though Noah apologized, right then and in the 5 calls Kurt let go to voice mail, it still hurt, mostly because he thought Noah was different. The last thing he needed was another insensitive jerk like Blaine in his life.

Mercedes had told him he was overreacting, but she was biased to Noah's abs, and even Sam put in his two cents and told Kurt he should give Noah a second chance, and Kurt had seen Sam's abs so he knew that couldn't be the reason for his concern. He probably _should_ give Noah a second chance; after all, Saturday panned out so differently from what either of them originally planned he probably just caught Noah unprepared and still giddy from the ego boost he got at the club.

Walking towards the elevator Kurt lifted his head and groaned, of course he'd run into literally the last person he wanted to see, because that just was the way his life went. How could he have forgotten that Blaine's mom was some hot-shot in the tax office? Blaine was probably here to borrow some money and bitch to mommy about how mean Kurt was to him. Kurt contemplated taking the stairs down, just to avoid Blaine, not because he felt guilty for punching him, but because his day had been so annoying so far he had a feeling he might punch Blaine again if he opened his mouth. On the other hand, the idea of walking down 15 flights of stairs was even less appealing so Kurt took a deep breath and stepped to stand beside Blaine.

"Hummel." Blaine greeted him with a sneer and Kurt fought the urge to roll his eyes, last names? Wow. Resisting the urge to hit the elevator button repeatedly to lift some of his frustration he opted to stare at the red numbers above the elevator door signaling the floors and ignoring Blaine completely. He could feel Blaine seething next to him, and Kurt waited for the moment he exploded,

"You're not even going to apologize, are you?" Kurt bit the inside of his cheek, forcing himself to keep a neutral expression, before turning to face Blaine,

"What for?"

"This!" Blaine turned his head and pointed on the left side of his face, where a quite impressive shiner had formed and Kurt couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction shooting through him at the sight.

"No." He said calmly and turned back towards the elevator, whose doors just opened up with a whoosh. Stepping in he remarked behind his shoulder, "You deserved it." Blaine gaped behind Kurt's back before he too stepped into the elevator, looking pissed,

"Why?" Kurt turned and calmly pushed the button for the ground floor, damn he should win an Oscar for this… He never actually thought he could play it so cool but the more Blaine got mad, the more he felt calmer and in control. Plus, Blaine getting upset was always funny; he was like a little angry troll doll, only with lots more hair gel.

"You were insulting my friend." Blaine crossed his arms over his chest, sticking his bottom lip out in a childish pout,

"You never defended _me_ against _your_ friends." He grumbled,

"That's because you did most of the insulting." Kurt replied, he really wanted Blaine to shut up, right now! He cast a side-glance at the elevator only other occupant, a young man dressed in a smart business suit who was doing his best to pretend he wasn't listening to their argument.

"They never liked me." Blaine said with his best hurt expression, and Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath,

"They never had a particularly good reason _to_ like you; you were acting like a jerk."

"They were snobs!" Kurt took another deep breath, it was truly amazing how Blaine could just go on and on about this mess when a. they were no longer together, and b. he got his ass handed to him by Kurt only a couple of days ago! It was like he had a death wish or something!

"Whatever, I'm done talking about this." And for most people that would have been enough of a brush off to realize the conversation was over, but not for someone like Blaine Anderson!

"You always do that," He told Kurt nastily, "You always deflect, then shut off!" Kurt balled his fists, he will not lose control this time, there were only a few more floors to go before he was free, he will not lose control!

"What do you want from me Blaine?" He cried, knowing his grip on his calmness was slipping fast, "Whatever we had is over! I don't care if my friends were snobs or if you hate them, I just came here to fix something and I just want to go home and enjoy the rest of my day off so for the next couple of floors, please, _please_ be quiet!" Well, at least he didn't punch Blaine again, though he was really asking for it.

"I just…"

"No!" Kurt cut his ex mid-sentence, he was being very specific, why can't Blaine understand?! "I don't want to hear it, so just _shut up_!" He tried accentuating the words, maybe Blaine developed temporary deafness and reading Kurt lips was the only way he would understand. Four more floors, he told himself, four more floors.

Suddenly an ear splitting metal screech was heard and the three of them were thrown back against the walls and the elevator stopped mid-floor. Kurt looked at the elevator's console in disbelief, seriously? Oh gods, "_Seriously?_"

Pushing himself off the wall he strode angrily to the console and started jabbing the alarm button, "Help! The elevator is stuck, help!"

"Yelling isn't going to solve anything, you know." Blaine was so glad to see Kurt finally crack, this calm façade of his was downright freaky. Kurt turned and fixed Blaine with a smiting glare, until the shorter man cowered back a little against the wall.

"W-what's going on?" Kurt turned to look at the stranger, who he completely forgot was also in the elevator with them. The man was as white as a sheet, so white in fact that it made Kurt feel tanned in comparison, his eyes were darting around the small space and his breathing became labored, small beads of perspiration forming on his forehead. Kurt could recognize a panic attack from miles away- Gaga knows he suffered enough of them as a teenager.

"Are you ok? Do you need some water?" He asked the man and started rummaging in his bag for his bottle, good thing he never went anywhere without one. Offering it to the guy he was about to suggest he sit down when Blaine, who was leaning against the wall this whole time jumped into action,

"Here, you should sit," He said and guided the unresisting man to the floor, "Let me loosen your tie for you." Kurt rolled his eyes, was Blaine really trying to get him jealous by hitting on a half-comatose guy? This was pathetic!

"Sir?" Kurt leaped towards the console, pressing the alarm button again,

"The elevator is stuck!" He repeated,

"Sir, please remain calm," The woman on the other side refused to lose her calm, and Kurt wanted to stab her- it was very easy for her to say 'stay calm', she wasn't the one stuck in a frigging elevator with her super annoying ex! "We are working on fixing the problem."

"How long will that take?" He asked, not even bothering to mask the anger in his voice, this was a government building after all, you'd expect they'd be more efficient with their elevator system!

"Please sir, I need you to remain calm, we are working on fixing the problem." Kurt gritted his teeth, he really wanted to hit the console right now, but he had a feeling neither he nor Chef Sylvester would be much happy with the results. Instead he slumped down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

An hour and a half later found the three of them pretty much in the same state. Kurt had just finished playing every single game on his i-phone, and was starting to wish he'd let Mercedes talk him into taking a sandwich with him, because the apple he ate while waiting upstairs was not going to last much longer and he really didn't want his stomach to start making noises right now. Though if it did, it would probably be easier to ignore what was going on the other side of the elevator where Blaine was murmuring against the guy's ear, who's head rested on Blaine shoulder like he'd been drained from repeated outbursts of panic attacks. Kurt wasn't entirely sure what Blaine's angle was right now, but he had a sneaking suspicion it was still to get a rise out of him, because even if the stranger _was _gay- he was in no shape to respond.

There was a loud noise from above, but before Kurt had a chance to panic that the whole elevator was going to crash with them in it, a square on the roof of the elevator opened and Noah's smiling face showed in the hole, upside down.

"Help is here!" He declared and Kurt shook his head to himself, wasn't it just great… Lady luck was one fickle mistress and could sure turn into a mega-bitch when you pissed her! Noah was lowered into the elevator and dropped to the floor, looking full in his element and Kurt couldn't stop the want pooling in his stomach, because damn, he was hot. "Hey Kurt," Noah said, his smile only wavering slightly, "We really have stop meeting like that." Kurt tried his hardest to keep a straight face but a crooked smile was escaping him, causing Noah's eyes to sparkle and his grin to widen.

"Come on," He said briskly, "Let's get you out of here."

"You should start with this guy," Kurt said, pointing at the poor man sprawled on the floor, "He's claustrophobic."

"No problem," Noah said cheerfully as he moved to help the man onto his feet, his shirt now grey instead of white after being soaked through with sweat and his legs wobbling as if made of jelly. Noah quickly strapped him into the harness he used to get down and shouted for his mates to pull him up. Kurt couldn't help but being impressed by Noah's efficiency and how the whole situation didn't faze him one bit. When the harness came back down empty Noah turned to Blaine,

"You're up, Blake." He said and Blaine shot him a venomous glare. He hated the guy with passion, even though he met him for like a minute altogether and was never formally introduced, but it was enough to see the way Kurt's eyes lit up at the sight of that oaf to convince Blaine he loathed the man.

"It's Blaine!" He snapped, still leaning against the wall, "And I don't want you touch me." Noah crossed his arms over his chest; thoroughly enjoying the situation- even if Kurt wasn't there, he was pretty sure this would have been one of the best work days ever. Having Kurt's ex, who was insulting him only two days ago, completely and utterly at his mercy was the best thing that could have happened and he was going to exploit the situation to the full.

"Fine, then you can just stay in here." Blaine glared at him once more, but he knew he had little choice, because even if he asked Noah would never get someone else to come down here instead of him. Kurt watched the two of them locked in a staring contest and rolled his eyes. He knew this had nothing to do with the elevator and everything to do with who's got the bigger cock and frankly this was ridiculous! Before he had a chance to step forward and yell at them both for being stupid Blaine pushed himself off the wall, conceding defeat- he really had enough of being cooped up in this 4X4 space.

To Kurt it seemed that Noah was purposely rough when he buckled Blaine in, but he couldn't prove anything, nor did he much care- hell, if it was him he'd probably start with knocking Blaine out altogether. As soon as Blaine's head was out of the elevator Noah turned to Kurt, and suddenly Kurt felt uncomfortable. It was the first time since he ditched Noah in the middle of street that the two of them were completely alone and now there was literally no escaping, and no he had to face the fact he's been ignoring Noah throughout the weekend.

"Hey," Noah said softly, coming to stand in front of Kurt, who pushed further back against the wall,

"Hey." For a moment Kurt worried his lip looking uncertain, but the truth was, Noah being here actually saved him an embarrassing phone call. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your calls." Noah shrugged,

"It's ok, I understand why you didn't." Kurt let out a sigh, why was Noah being so understanding? It was like someone tapped into Kurt's dreams of the perfect guy and then went into the lab and concocted Noah because hell, he couldn't be for real! "So, how was your day?" He asked with a crooked grin and Kurt let out a small laughter, rolling his eyes dramatically,

"I must have done something really horrible in past life to earn this…" He lamented softly, "Not only getting stuck in an elevator, but being stuck in one with Blaine? I don't get it! What a nightmnn…" Throughout Kurt's speech Noah was getting steadily closer to the other man until he was pushing Kurt further into the wall. One hand rose to caress Kurt's cheek as he swooped down to take his mouth in a kiss. For a second or two Kurt was too stunned to respond but he soon got on with the program and deepened the kiss, grabbing Noah's neck as if afraid the other man would slip away if he let go. When they pulled back for air, Noah pressed his forehead against Kurt's, his heart doing a happy little dance and congratulating him for finally going for it.

"If you wanted me to shut up you could have just said so." Kurt said breathily, still not believing he was standing in an elevator and making out with the man of his dreams.

"I don't want you to shut up." Noah said and started placing soft kisses on Kurt's neck before Kurt grabbed his face and brought it back up for a proper kiss, so what if he just spent the last couple of hours stuck in here- if Noah kept dishing those amazing kisses he really didn't mind staying here all day even.

"Puckerman! Do we really need to have the time and place talk _again_?" Kurt felt the heat rising to his cheeks so fast he hoped he wasn't about to faint. Burying his face in Noah's shoulder the firefighter could actually feel the heat through his shirt. Turning around to face Mike, whose head was poking through the elevator roof he rolled his eyes. He was being unprofessional and he knew it but damn it Kurt was so hot he couldn't resist himself. "Hey, you must be Kurt, Noah talks about you all the time, nice to meet you, I'm Mike by the way." Kurt lifted his head slightly, his whole face still flushed but he managed a small wave from behind Noah. Mike seemed like a really nice guy, but Kurt knew that from now on he'd be blushing like mad whenever he saw the guy, "Come on, let's get you out of here before the whole thing collapses." Mike said cheerfully,

"What?" Kurt gasped in shock; nobody said anything about the elevator collapsing!

"He's kidding!" Noah said quickly, sending a warning glare at Mike, who grinned and disappeared, leaving Noah to deal with the freaked out Kurt. Noah pulled Kurt towards the harness and helped him to put it on, trying to sneak in a few extra touches but Kurt's mind was too busy with flashing every elevator crash scene he's ever seen in a movie or television to notice.

As soon as Kurt's feet touched solid ground he felt like he could breathe again. Suddenly the hall, which seemed stuffy only a couple of hours ago was filled with light and air, he saw the guy from the elevator sitting by the window, a mug of steaming beverage in his hands, looking out through the open window and gathering courage, Kurt suspected before he braved the stairs. Kurt turned his eyes to Blaine, who now had a roomful of gorgeous men to hit on instead on one guy who couldn't even register his presence and Kurt, was shamelessly flirting with anyone who even looked his way.

"Hey." Kurt jumped a little, turning his head to see Noah standing by his side, smiling wide, looking very pleased with himself. Kurt wondered if he always looked that way when a mission was successful or was it because Kurt was there. Either way Noah was so damn yummy Kurt had to stuff his hands into his pockets so he won't give into temptation and jump Noah's bones- even though he knew it was ok to that now, there were quite a lot of Noah's colleges around and though Kurt didn't really know much about the ranks in the fire department he was pretty sure at least a couple were Noah's superiors and they will not look kindly at him making out with one of the people he just rescued,

"Listen, I really need to get back to work." Noah said, his voice kind of regretful and he looked pensive for a moment, and Kurt was suddenly scared he might suggest bailing work just to spend some time with Kurt. Before Noah could say anything to ruin his career Kurt blurted,

"Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?" A slow grin spread over Noah's face that made Kurt blush all over again,

"I'd love to." Kurt nodded, making quick mental calculations as to how much time he had and what he could possibly cook in that time,

"Is 8 o'clock good for you?"

"Perfect."

**..oo00oo..**

**A/N:** I hate elevators, I'm claustrophobic, but even I draw the line at walking more than 10 flights of stairs…

Finally, some action! YAY!


End file.
